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Allergan to Buy Vitae Pharma to Boost Dermatology Suite
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Allergan plc announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Vitae Pharmaceuticals in a bid to enhance its dermatology pipeline.
Shares of Vitae Pharmaceuticals skyrocketed 157.41%, while Allergan’s stock gained 1.96% on the news.
The deal has been valued at $21.00 per share in cash for a total transaction of approximately $639 million. Allergan anticipates closing the transaction by the end of 2016.
The cash tender offer for Vitae’s shares will be executed through a subsidiary of Allergan. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Allergan will acquire all shares of Vitae that are not tendered into the offer through a second-step merger, which will be completed after the closing of the tender offer.
Vitae Pharmaceuticals a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel, small-molecule drugs for diseases with significant unmet medical need.
The acquisition will add Vitae Pharmaceuticals’ key pipeline candidates VTP-43742 and VTP-38543 to Allergan’s dermatology portfolio.
VTP-43742, currently in several phase II trials, is being developed for treating psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders. VTP-38543 is in a phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial for potential treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. Both the candidates are highly differentiated first-in-class compounds for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis and autoimmune diseases.
Allergan’s R&D platform will also get a significant boost from Vitae’s Contour platform, which plays a key role in the discovery of novel drug compounds with differentiated mechanisms of action for the treatment of dermatologic conditions.
Acquisitions are an integral component of Allergan’s expansion strategy. Over the past few years, the company has completed several major acquisitions including those of Arrow, Specifar, Actavis Group and Warner Chilcott, as well as the Forest and Allergan Inc. takeovers.
This growth-by-acquisition strategy has enhanced Allergan’s operational expertise and manufacturing capabilities substantially, thereby lending support to its long-term investment in biogenerics.
Allergan currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in health care sector include ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANIP - Free Report) , Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPH - Free Report) and AxoGen, Inc. (AXGN - Free Report) . While both ANI Pharmaceuticals and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AxoGen carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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Allergan to Buy Vitae Pharma to Boost Dermatology Suite
ALLERGAN PLC Price
ALLERGAN PLC Price | ALLERGAN PLC Quote
Allergan currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks in health care sector include ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANIP - Free Report) , Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPH - Free Report) and AxoGen, Inc. (AXGN - Free Report) . While both ANI Pharmaceuticals and Amphastar Pharmaceuticals sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AxoGen carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Confidential from Zacks
Beyond this Analyst Blog, would you like to see Zacks' best recommendations that are not available to the public? Our Executive VP, Steve Reitmeister, knows when key trades are about to be triggered and which of our experts has the hottest hand. Click to see them now>>