Clarus Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company dedicated to providing solutions to unmet medical needs by advancing androgen therapies, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary Clarus Therapeutics, has filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Clarus has also filed a motion seeking authorization to pursue an auction and sale process under Section 363 of the U.S. bankruptcy code of its sole commercial asset, JATENZO, that is approved for use by healthcare providers to treat testosterone deficiency in men with certain medical conditions.
Clarus has filed a series of motions with the court seeking to ensure the continuation of normal operations while on this path. Clarus believes that it has sufficient financial resources to meet its operational and financial obligations to patients, healthcare providers, suppliers and employees through the Chapter 11 process. In addition, scaled-back efforts will continue to support commercialization of JATENZO.
“After thoroughly exploring our strategic options in a robust process conducted by the capital structure advisory team at Raymond James, and in light of the extremely challenging financial markets, Clarus’ board of directors and its senior management team have unanimously concluded that a structured sale process represents the best possible solution for Clarus and its stakeholders,” Dr. Robert Dudley, CEO of Clarus, said. “We strongly believe that JATENZO has the potential to be a valuable product for the treatment of men with testosterone deficiency and, with continued commercialization efforts, to capture increasing market share over time. Unfortunately, Clarus is no longer in a tenable financial position to provide such efforts nor remain a viable entity.”
The proposed bidding procedures, if approved by the court, would allow interested parties to submit binding offers to acquire substantially all of Clarus’ assets, which would be purchased free and clear of Clarus’ indebtedness and certain liabilities. Interested parties could include both strategic and financial buyers, for whom substantial due diligence materials are available.
Clarus’ legal counsel is Goodwin Procter and Potter Anderson & Corroon and its investment banker is Raymond James & Associates. Clarus has also named Lawrence Perkins of Sierra Constellation Partners as chief restructuring officer during the Chapter 11 process.
