PAI Partners is exploring a sale of Ethypharm, the French pharmaceutical group specialising in pain and addiction treatments, in a process that could value the company at more than €1bn ($1.2bn), Bloomberg reports.

The auction is being run with Jefferies Financial Group, and interest has already come from both private equity firms and strategic buyers. However, the company’s opioid portfolio could pose challenges, as some bidders may face restrictions on acquiring those products.

Based in Saint-Cloud near Paris, Ethypharm focuses on central nervous system disorders and opioid addiction treatments, producing three of the most widely prescribed molecules in substitution therapy and overdose reversal — methadone, buprenorphine, and naloxone. It also manufactures injectable medicines used in intensive care units and emergency medicine, supplied in formats ranging from syringes and ampoules to freeze-dried vials.

PAI bought Ethypharm from Astorg in 2016. The potential exit comes as private equity firms step up healthcare disposals to return capital to investors. Earlier this month, Bain and Cinven sold Stada to CapVest Partners for €10bn in Europe’s largest leveraged buyout of 2025, while Advent International divested Zentiva to GTCR for $4.8bn.

Discussions over Ethypharm remain at an early stage, and there is no guarantee a transaction will be completed. Both PAI and Jefferies declined to comment.

If finalised, the deal would add to a series of multi-billion-dollar private equity exits in European healthcare, underscoring sustained investor appetite for pharmaceuticals and specialist treatments.

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