Merck Coughs Up $500 Million for Afferent
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) added to its product pipeline with the $500 million acquisition Afferent Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company in San Mateo, California. Afferent develops therapeutic candidates targeting the P2X3 receptor, for the treatment of common, poorly-managed neurogenic conditions. Afferent’s lead candidate, AF-219, is a selective, non-narcotic, orally administered P2X3 antagonist. It is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of refractory, chronic cough, as well as in a Phase 2 clinical trial in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with cough. Merck, which is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, paid $500... Read More »Aspen Buys Rights to Anesthesia Portfolio
This isn’t a sleepy deal. AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) sold the ex-U.S. rights to its portfolio of seven established anesthesia medicines to Aspen Global Incorporated. Aspen Global is the holding company for Aspen Group’s (OTCBB: ASPU) international business that manages and maintains intellectual property rights, and regulatory and commercial strategies of a portfolio of specialist and branded products. The drugs are Diprivan (general anaesthesia), EMLA (topical anesthetic) and five local anesthesias (Xylocaine, Xylocard/Syloproct, Maracine, Naropin, Carbocaine and Citanest). Under terms of the agreement, AGI will acquire the commercialization rights, outside the United States, to... Read More »Jazz Adds Cancer Contender to Its Pipeline
Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: JAZZ) came across the pond to shop for late-stage drug candidates, and ended up buying Celator Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPXX) for $1.5 billion. Celator focuses on combination therapy to treat cancer. Its lead product, VYEXOS™, has completed a Phase 3 trial for acute myeloid leukemia. VYEXOS™ complements Jazz Pharma’s clinical and commercial expertise in hematology/oncology. Jazz is paying $30.25 per share in cash. The transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP adjusted EPS beginning in 2018. Read More »Arbor Pharma Targets ‘Alcohol Use Disorder’ Drug
Specialty pharma company Arbor Pharmaceuticals has acquired XenoPort, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNPT), maker of Horizant, a potential treatment for patients with “alcohol use disorder.” XenoPort develops and commercializes a portfolio of product candidates for the treatment of neurological and other disorders in the United States. The company has entered into a clinical trial agreement with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Arbor will pay $7.03 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $467 million. Centerview Partners is serving as exclusive financial advisor to XenoPort, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as legal advisor to XenoPort.... Read More »Pfizer: We’re So Over Allergan
Within hours after Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Allergan plc (NYSE: AGN) called off their $160 billion merger on April 26, 2016, Allergan announced a new acquisition. It’s taken a few weeks, but Pfizer is finally moving on. Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANAC) is the target, based in Palo Alto, California. Anacor Pharmaceuticals focuses on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform. Its flagship asset is crisaborole, a differentiated non-steroidal toipcal PDE4 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory properties. Its currently under review by the FDA for the treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, also... Read More »Schedule a demo
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