Major health care product company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

The increased rate of bankruptcy filings by health care providers, organizations, and hospitals over the previous two years has slowed down in 2025 with less than one-third as many petitions filed so far this year, based on data from Becker’s Hospital Review.

The health care industry has recorded at least 18 bankruptcy filings this year as of the first week of October 2025.

That’s significantly fewer than the 57 filings for the year in 2024 and 79 cases in 2023. It’s also fewer than half the annual filing average of 42 each year from 2019 through 2022, according to Gibbins Advisors.

• Health care bankruptcies, Jan.-Oct. 2025: 18

• Health care bankruptcies, 2024: 57

• Health care bankruptcies, 2023: 79

Among the major filings this year has been health care facilities operator Genesis Healthcare Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 9, with over $708 million in secured debt and over $1.5 billion in unsecured debt.

Also, giant health care services provider ModivCare Inc. and 70 affiliates filed for a prearranged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 20, seeking to reduce their $1.4 billion in debt and hand their assets to prepetition lenders, facing an unsustainable capital structure, deteriorating liquidity, and industry headwinds.

And now, troubled biopharmaceutical company Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 protection, facing financial distress after years of litigation, supply chain issues, and a recent threat of an involuntary bankruptcy petition.

The Columbus, Ohio-based debtor listed $1 million to $10 million in assets and $10 million to $50 million in liabilities in its Subchapter V petition filed on Oct. 1. The company said in it filing that it had $1.2 million in assets and $12.8 million in liabilities as of Aug. 31, 2025.

The company’s largest unsecured creditors include Winstead PC, owed over $566,000; Fredrickson & Byron P.A., owed over $479,000; and WorldCare Clinic LLC, owed over $255,000.

Navidea filed a motion seeking approval of up to $940,000 in debtor-in-possession financing from its secured creditor John Kimball Scott Jr., a member of the company’s board of directors, who is owed $7.76 million in debt.

The biopharmaceutical company develops precision medicine with immuno-targeted products, including Lymphoseek, a first-of-its-kind product that assists in the diagnosis of metastatic cancers that may have spread to lymph nodes and also assists in the staging process.

Navidea reached an agreement in November 2016 to sell its North American Lymphoseek assets to Cardinal Health. The deal closed in March 2017, for $80 million upfront.

Subsequently, the biopharmaceutical company accepted a lump sum of an additional $17 million, discounted cash flow payment in lieu of future royalties of an estimated $165 million on future Lymphoseek sales.

• North American Lymphoseek assets, $80 million upfront to Navidea, closes March 2017.

• $17 million payment in lieu of future royalties estimated at $165 million, before February 2018.

The sale excluded all assets, properties, and rights outside of North America.

Capital Royalty Partners II LP had provided the debtor with a $50 million loan in 2015, which grew to $66 million after a default and litigation, according to court papers. Navidea paid the lender $59 million after the sale to Cardinal Health was completed in December 2017.

Navidea was also engaged in lawsuits and countersuits with former CEO Dr. Michael Goldberg, from February 2019 to December 2024.

Additionally, costs from failed clinical trials, global supply chain issues, and threats of possible involuntary bankruptcy filings prompted Navidea to file for Chapter 11 protection.

Related: 79-year-old key health care provider files Chapter 11 bankruptcy

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the Health, Biotech & Wellness Business News section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.