Sorrento Therapeutics Announces Merger of Scilex and Semnur

Sorrento Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRNE) has announced its majority-owned subsidiary Scilex Pharmaceuticals will merge with Semnur Pharmaceuticals to form a new company, Scilex Holding Company.

As quoted in the press release:

Sorrento’s equity stake in Scilex (77%) has been converted into a 58% stake in Scilex Holding. With Scilex’s lead product ZTlido® (lidocaine topical system 1.8%) ramping rapidly in the early months of commercial launch and Semnur’s lead compound (non-opioid corticosteroid gel) in Phase 3 pivotal studies for the treatment of lumbar radicular pain/sciatica with Fast Track status from the FDA, Scilex Holding is well positioned to become a global leader in non-opioid pain management.

“This transaction is highly synergistic. Scilex has built up a commercial organization with over 100 highly experienced sales representatives, fully staffed marketing, market access, and medical liaison teams while Semnur has a very exciting Phase 3 compound in non-opioid pain management.  The synergy is compelling on multiple fronts. With Semnur’s SP102, ZTlido and the RTX product lines, Sorrento is now well positioned to address an approximately $63 billion pain therapeutics market,” stated Dr. Henry Ji, Chairman and CEO of Sorrento. “Semnur CEO Jaisim Shah and his team are bringing a tremendous amount of industry knowledge and an impressive proven record in pharmaceutical commercialization to the combined company.  I am confident that under Jaisim’s leadership, Scilex Holding will emerge as a preeminent force in the industry.”

Mahendra Shah, Chairman of Semnur, which was backed by leading healthcare venture capital firms including Canaan Partners, Frazier Healthcare Partners, and Vivo Capital, commented, “We are very excited for Semnur to be part of the Sorrento family. With the ongoing opioid crisis, both companies have been in active dialogue with local, state and federal agencies on best strategies and methods to treat a continuum of chronic and acute pain conditions using non-addictive non-opioid therapies. We are confident that Scilex Holding can take full advantage of the opportunities created in this paradigm shift.” Newly appointed Scilex Holding CEO Jaisim Shah added “I am delighted to be a part of this strategic combination which collectively underscores our mission to provide innovative non-opioid therapies to as many patients as possible. It also addresses alternative approaches to pain management mandated due to the epidemic overuse of opioids.”

Click here to read the full press release.