A Novelion Therapeutics Inc. subsidiary that pled guilty in 2017 to illegally marketing a cholesterol drug has filed for chapter 11 protection with a deal in hand to sell the business to Dublin-based Amryt Pharma PLC, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc., maker of the drug Juxtapid, filed for bankruptcy Monday in New York proposing to recapitalize about $414 million in outstanding debt and deliver the business to Amryt. Aegerion said that it will continue to make Juxtapid and its other drug, Myalept, available to patients while in chapter 11 and continue paying ordinary business expenses. Novelion said the restructuring deal followed an extensive marketing process led by outside advisers. The proposal, which must be approved by a bankruptcy judge, has support from holders of more than two-thirds of Aegerion’s 2019 bonds and backing from other debt holders, the company said. Under the deal, Amryt intends to raise $60 million in new money through an equity raise. Novelion, meanwhile, will hold a 10 percent stake in Aegerion after it leaves chapter 11 in exchange for forgiving about $36 million it loaned its subsidiary. Aegerion expects to emerge from chapter 11 on or around Oct. 17, according to papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.
