Eversheds Sutherland Advises Azurity Pharmaceuticals on Expansion of Portfolio with CONTRAVE® and Related Assets

The acquisition supports Azurity’s long-term strategy of applying its development, lifecycle management, and commercialization capabilities to established medicines that address meaningful unmet patient needs in everyday clinical practice.

“I can think of only a few firms like Eversheds Sutherland that we would trust with a transaction of this significance — their partnership was instrumental in helping Azurity execute this important strategic initiative,” said Hanok George, Chief Legal & Compliance Officer at Azurity Pharmaceuticals. “This acquisition moves Azurity into new therapeutic areas for the Company — obesity and chronic weight management. It reflects our broader strategy of bringing proven, well-characterized medicines to patients who are too often overlooked, at a moment when obesity is increasingly treated as a chronic condition requiring sustained, individualized care.”

CONTRAVE® (naltrexone HCl / bupropion HCl) is an established oral medicine for chronic weight management with a broad international regulatory footprint. Approved across major markets in North America, Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, and beyond — under the CONTRAVE® brand in the United States, Canada, Australia, and South Korea, and as Mysimba® across the European Union, the United Kingdom, and additional European markets — the medicine reflects more than a decade of clinical use and regulatory scrutiny by some of the world’s most rigorous health authorities. This well-characterized global asset extends Azurity’s reach into one of the fastest-growing therapeutic categories in healthcare and reinforces the company’s commitment to serving patients across the globe, as obesity increasingly receives recognition as a chronic disease requiring long-term management and individualized treatment approaches.

In addition to CONTRAVE®, the transaction includes a portfolio of branded medicines, authorized generics, and nutritional products that further complement Azurity’s growing portfolio.

“Working with Eversheds Sutherland on this acquisition, we had a team that moved as an extension of our own — not just responsive and effective, but genuinely invested in getting the details right,” said Naudé de Klerk, VP General Counsel & Country Manager, Ireland at Azurity Pharmaceuticals. “Their command of the corporate, IP, regulatory and other transactional issues in play meant we could move with speed and efficiency, even as complexity increased. That kind of execution made a real difference to the outcome. We are grateful for their commitment and dedication throughout the transaction”.

Read the full press release here.

The Eversheds Sutherland deal team was led by Partner Michael Voynich and included Partners Pete Pappas (Intellectual Property) and Josh Shapiro (Antitrust); Special Counsel Anna Halsey (Intellectual Property); Counsel Adam Byrne (Corporate) and Rebecca Gelfand (Finance); Senior Associate Heidi Smucker (Antitrust); and Associates Haley Klass (Corporate), Matt Naughton (Corporate) and Angelena Velaj (Corporate).

The transaction follows the firm’s counsel for Azurity in its acquisition of Sebela’s Bowel Prep Franchise and its acquisition of Covis Pharma Group in 2025.