Sun Pharma To Acquire Nasdaq-Listed Checkpoint Therapeutics For $355 Million

The deal marks a major step taken by an Indian player in the pharmaceutical industry to enhance their oncology portfolio and progress into the high-margins specialty pharma market.

The upfront cash payment represents a premium of about 66 per cent over Checkpoint’s closing share price on March 7, 2025.

Source : Sun Pharma

Sun Pharma is going to acquire Checkpoint Therapeutics for an upfront cash payment of $4.10 per share, an official statement from the company revealed on Monday. The deal will come up to $355 million or more than Rs 3,000 crore.

The Indian pharmaceutical player will be acquiring the Nasdaq-listed firm which is an immunotherapy and targeted oncology player, reported Moneycontrol. Checkpoint is a commercial-stage firm that focuses on developing novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers.

The acquisition will also include UNLOXCYT, a treatment for advanced skin cancer approved by the FDA. The deal marks a major step taken by an Indian player in the pharmaceutical industry to enhance their oncology portfolio and progress into the high-margins specialty pharma market, particularly in the US.

Elaborating on the deal, Dilip Shanghvi, Chairman and MD, Sun Pharma, said, “The acquisition further bolsters our innovative portfolio in onco-derm therapy.” Checkpoint CEO and President, James Oliviero, noted that the acquisition will help maximise the value for the company’s shareholders and help ‘provide accelerated access to the UNLOXCYT in the United States, Europe, and other markets worldwide’. 

Sun Pharma's Presence In The US Market

The upfront cash payment represents a premium of about 66 per cent over Checkpoint’s closing share price on March 7, 2025. The deal, however, remains subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals from the American company’s side.

It is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the 2025 calendar year. Notably, in the nine-month period ending September 2024, Checkpoint clocked a revenue of $0.04 million, a net loss of $27.3 million, and a R&D expense of $19.3 million.

Earlier in 2023, Sun Pharma acquired Concert Pharma Inc for $576 million for the company’s dermatology portfolio. Notably, the US market accounts for a major portion of revenue for the Indian pharmaceutical player. The company’s market capitalisation stood at Rs 3.86 lakh crore in 2025.