Head of team: John McEvoy, Global general counsel

Team size: Three

What are the most significant cases and transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The most significant deal we have worked on in the last 12 months is the sale of Amryt Pharma to Chiesi Farmaceutici for $1.48bn, representing a 107% premium to shareholders. We also recently secured a refinancing of $125m worth of senior credit facilities from funds managed by the credit group of Ares Management Corporation in a non-dilutive debt refinancing of Amryt’s previously secured-term debt facility. This will generate significant annual interest savings and provide important strategic flexibility for Amryt to continue to grow its global rare disease presence. We also supported Amryt’s wider organisation – comprising their clinical, medical and commercial teams – to ensure Amryt became the first company globally to approve a treatment for Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). EB is a rare and distressing genetic skin disorder affecting young children and adults for which, until now, there was no approved treatment in any market. The approval of this treatment was supported by Phase 3 data from the largest ever global trial conducted in patients with EB, performed across 58 sites in 28 countries. This authorisation will provide a regulatory core dossier which may form the basis for future regulatory submissions in LATAM and the Middle East.

What has been the number one challenge that has impacted you over the past year?

The number one challenge has been balancing changes to the global economy and their impact across our company, much of it related to the war in Ukraine. This has included managing its impact from product, patient, and enforcement perspectives across our European commercial infrastructure. Ensuring continued success and growth across the company amid the squeeze on costs and the inflation of prices was challenging, but we ultimately managed to achieve this.

Has the increasing consciousness of climate change and sustainability affected your company and the team’s priorities, and if so how?

Yes, we have started embedding ESG principles into our corporate priorities and company goals. As regulations and legislation become increasingly focused on the implementation of organisational ESG policies, it remains on our company’s radar. As a public company, it’s important that shareholders and vendors see how seriously we take ESG and that we feel compelled to lead by example in the implementation of ESG principles.