Mithra’s efforts to extend its cash runway earlier this year were unsuccessful. Image credit: Shutterstock/Nudphon Phuengsuwan.

A day after filing for bankruptcy, Mithra has sold its share in two of its daughter pharmaceutical companies along with rights to its female hormone drug portfolio for €175m ($188.2m).

The deal saw Budapest-headquartered pharma company Gedeon Richter buy all of Mithra’s shares in Neuralis and Estetra – both subsidiaries of the struggling women’s health pharmaceutical company. Gedeon Richter also gained assets related to the manufacturing of estetrol.

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The funds, after deduction of financial debts, will be used to repay Mithra’s creditors, meaning the sale does not create any value for the shareholders of Mithra Pharmaceuticals, according to a 10 June press release.

Belgium-based Mithra has faced severe financial difficulties in the past few years with share prices tanking by more than 90%.  Efforts to extend its cash runway, which included raising $13.7m by selling its stake in Mayne Pharma, were unsuccessful, forcing the company to file for bankruptcy and siphon off its remaining holdings.

The transfer will see Gedeon Richter gain rights to Mithra’s Estelle (estetrol-E4 / drospirenone), marketed as Nextstellis and Drovelis in the US and EU respectively. Estelle netted Mithra €2.6m in the first half of 2023.

Gedeon Richter will also take on development duties for Mithra’s menopause treatment candidate Donesta which produced positive topline Phase III results in mid-2023. The orally administered estetrol (E4) hormone therapy is slated for US approval in 2024 and EU approval in 2025.

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Mithra said that “all 49 members of the personnel engaged by the transferred entities will be able to pursue their activities with Gedeon Richter,” along with 17 other employees who have been offered jobs by the latter company.

Two of Mithra’s other properties – Novalon, a long-acting drug specialist entity it acquired in 2015, and a contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) facility – remain unaffected by the deal with Gedeon Richter and stay under protection. Mithra said it expects offers to come in by mid-month subject to judicial protection measures being extended.

In a statement released on 10 June announcing bankruptcy filing, Mithra stated its employees’ research and future progress “will outlive Mithra and will continue under a different banner from now on. We all hope that these efforts will lead to the development of new solutions that will benefit as many people as possible.”