Huadong Medicine's $218M Acquisition of Sinclair Pharma Enhances Synergy with YVOIRE Hyaluronic Acid Portfolio

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that Huadong Medicine announced on November 8 that the cash tender offer to acquire all shares of the UK-based medical aesthetics company Sinclair Pharma plc has been completed. The acquisition price was 32 pence per share, with a total transaction value of RMB 1.52 billion. Starting from November 2018, Sinclair will be included in Huadong Medicine’s consolidated financial statements.

Sinclair, headquartered in London, UK, is a professional medical aesthetics company with global operations and world-leading technologies in the field. Its business covers the entire industry chain, including research and development, production, and sales, supported by an international management and operations team of over 200 professionals.

Currently, the company holds nearly 100 patents worldwide, covering core regions including the United States, Europe, China, South Korea, Australia, and Japan. Among these, the Ellansé product series, as the company’s flagship offering, is protected by 23 high-quality global patents that comprehensively cover both products and manufacturing processes.

Sinclair’s core products, including the Silhouette thread lift series and Ellansé long-lasting injectable microspheres, are at the forefront of industry technology. The portfolio also includes PerfectHA hyaluronic acid and the distribution of Sculptra microspheres in the European market. The company, throughBuilding a Differentiated Product Portfolio, providing a richer and higher-quality experience of medical aesthetic products and solutions for beauty-conscious and fashion-forward individuals worldwide. 

Market Launch Status of Sinclair Products in Different Regions

Aesthetic Thread Lift Series:The FDA-approved Silhouette thread lift series includes the absorbable Soft/Instalift threads and the non-absorbable Refine breast threads, making it a leading brand in the global medical aesthetics industry.

Soft/Instalift absorbable thread lifts utilize innovative bidirectional cone suspension technology for facial and neck contouring, enabling direct tissue lifting. Most importantly, as a bioabsorbable material, it stimulates the body’s collagen production. Positioned as a new generation of high-end technology in the field of facial aesthetics, this product offers prominent advantages, including immediate results, minimal invasiveness, bioabsorbability, and long-lasting effects.

Refine, also approved by the U.S. FDA for breast lifting, is a soft and flexible suture anchor system that lifts and supports soft tissue. It can be used either independently or in combination with other breast augmentation techniques, serving as an upgraded alternative to silicone implant-based breast augmentation.

Sinclair is developing indications for Refine thread lifts for lifting and contouring other areas of the body. The Silhouette thread lift series is Sinclair’s flagship product,Currently accounts for approximately 40% of Sinclair's total sales revenue.。

Ellansé：The world’s only polycaprolactone (PCL) microspheres for facial restoration, positioned as a premium, long-lasting, and bioresorbable dermal filler, have earned widespread consumer acclaim and an excellent reputation.

Ellansé can significantly stimulate collagen proliferation, offering the dual benefits of improving skin texture and restoring natural facial contours. Leveraging its technological advantages and brand positioning, this product aims to provide users of traditional hyaluronic acid fillers with more differentiated and premium options.

Ellansé offers a range of product specifications, with effects lasting up to four years, and is also a flagship product of Sinclair.Currently accounts for approximately 25% of Sinclair's total sales., it is expected to become Sinclair's most important product in the future.

PerfectHA：The latest generation of biphasic hyaluronic acid fillers is easy to inject and provides long-lasting volumizing effects for wrinkle correction and body contouring. PerfectHA uses only raw materials originally produced in France, characterized by an extremely low residual cross-linking agent content, ensuring high safety and durable results. Sinclair has initiated regulatory submissions for its upgraded product series in major global markets.

Sculptra：Composed of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) microspheres, this product is the first-generation collagen biostimulator, primarily used for correcting facial deficits and other facial wrinkles. Sinclair has secured long-term distribution rights for this product in the Western European market from Galderma, a leading dermatological pharmaceutical company specializing in global skincare solutions and aesthetic and orthopedic products.

Currently, Sinclair has established a product safety surveillance system to collect information on adverse reactions. Safety data from more than 700,000 patients show that the overall incidence of adverse reactions is less than 0.1%, which is significantly lower than the average incidence for similar products, demonstrating the product’s high safety profile and trustworthy quality.

Sinclair’s products have obtained regulatory approvals and market access in more than 50 countries and regions worldwide, with the majority registered in key medical aesthetics markets such as Europe, the United States, Brazil, and South Korea. In China, Ellansé has already initiated the registration process, while other products are expected to complete registration and launch sequentially from 2019 over the following two to three years.

Sinclair Company adopts“Direct Sales + Distributors”sales model, with its products marketed and sold in 55 countries worldwide. The company adopts a direct-operated model in the United States, Brazil, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Mexico, and Germany, while distributing its products through 38 distributors in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Russia, and Latin America (excluding Brazil). As of the end of July 2018, the company had a total of 111 full-time marketing personnel globally, including 40 marketing staff and 71 sales staff.

Sinclair conducts brand promotion and market outreach through multiple channels, striving to build a marketing-driven organization oriented toward new technologies, byEstablishment of Sinclair College, providing training and certification to physicians to ensure proper product use and optimal aesthetic outcomes. Meanwhile, Sinclair also provides continuous training to its distributors.

Sinclair places significant emphasis on brand building, promoting its products and technologies, disseminating clinically validated research findings, and advancing combination therapies and practical applications through extensive online digital marketing campaigns—leveraging social media, social networks, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems—as well as by regularly hosting the offline World Experts in Aesthetics Meeting (WEM).

From January to June 2018, Sinclair maintained stable overall operations.Achieved sales revenue of £21.256 million, representing a 5.66% year-on-year increase from the same period in 2017; Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) amounted to -£1.576 million. As of June 30, 2018, Sinclair’s total assets stood at £168.74 million, with net assets of £88.802 million.

Sinclair's Profitability

Upon completion of Huadong Medicine’s tender offer for the equity of Sinclair, UK, the Company will directly acquire an internationally leading portfolio of medical aesthetics products, a global sales network, and all related intellectual property rights. The Company will provide multifaceted support to this platform, including financial, technical, and product-related resources. Furthermore, following the completion of the acquisition, a Management Incentive Plan (MIP) totaling £25 million will be implemented. This plan is expected to significantly enhance Sinclair’s profitability and market competitiveness over the next five years, positioning it as a globally renowned, professionally operated international company in the medical aesthetics sector.

After Sinclair's products enter the Chinese market in the future, they will be integrated with our company's existingYiwon SeriesThe products generate synergies, enabling Huadong Medicine to achieve global layout, collaboration, and technology promotion of new products and technologies in the medical aesthetics field.