Sarepta Gets Breathing Room in $700 Million Debt Restructure

The Sarepta Therapeutics headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, US.

(Bloomberg) -- Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. landed a deal with investors to restructure around $700 million of debt, giving the company a reprieve as it recovers from a controversy over its gene therapy.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Why New York City Has a Fleet of New EVs From a Dead Carmaker Trump Takes Second Swing at Cutting Housing Assistance for Immigrants Chicago Schools Seeks $1 Billion of Short-Term Debt as Cash Gone Neom’s Desert Ski Resort Strains Saudi Prince’s $1.5 Trillion Plan We Need a Reality Check on Crime, Safety and Transit

Prior to the deal, Sarepta had been staring down $1.2 billion of debt and warned in filings earlier this year that its cash flow may not be enough to pay that obligation, which was due in 2027.

As part of the transaction, the drugmaker pushed back some of its debt maturities by three years. Sarepta is swapping its debt for a smaller amount and giving investors cash and shares, which could dilute the stock.

Sarepta fell 10% at the start of regular trading in New York on Thursday.

“This exchange marks important progress in our long-term financial strategy,” Sarepta’s Chief Executive Officer Doug Ingram said in a statement. He called the deal “shareholder-friendly” and said with its anticipated cash flow and liquidity “we believe we are well positioned to fully fund our pipeline and meet our near-term obligations.”

Ingram said the company will be able to support its siRNA experimental drug development — widely considered the future of Sarepta’s business.

Sarepta has staked much of its pipeline on RNA-targeting drugs, including those developed by Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. Sarepta owes ongoing payments to Arrowhead as part of a deal between the two companies in which Sarepta gets the rights to multiple drugs in development that use Arrowhead’s platform.

Sarepta has been under pressure after its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Elevidys, was linked to patient deaths.

In July, Elevidys was briefly pulled from the market. While the drug is available again for patients who can walk, analysts said the deaths could curtail demand for the treatment, putting pressure on the company’s finances.

(Updates shares in fourth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

Foreigners Are Buying US Homes Again While Americans Get Sidelined Volkswagen EVs Outsell Tesla in Europe a Decade After Dieselgate What Declining Cardboard Box Sales Tell Us About the US Economy J.Crew Survived Bankruptcy. Next Up: Cultural Relevance? Women’s Earnings Never Really Recover After They Have Children

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

View Comments