Allergan to buy migraine drug maker Map Pharmaceuticals
Allergan Inc., the Irvine maker of the wrinkle filler Botox, agreed to buy a Silicon Valley pharmaceutical company in a deal valued at $958 million to gain an experimental inhalable migraine treatment.
Allergan will pay Map Pharmaceuticals Inc. investors $25 a share, a 60% premium over Tuesday’s closing price of $15.58 in New York, the companies said in a statement. The deal was unanimously approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to close late in the first quarter or in the second quarter, the companies said.
Allergan has targeted sales growth in specialty pharmaceuticals and skin care as it considers divesting its weight-loss unit, including the Lap-Band device, Chief Executive David Pyott has said. The company has announced five acquisitions in the last two years, including a $350-million deal in November for a unit of SkinMedica Inc.
Map, based in Mountain View, is seeking U.S. regulatory approval for Levadex, an inhaled form of a 60-year-old migraine drug, to treat those who have acute attacks.
Allergan’s Botox is approved as a treatment for chronic migraine patients, those who suffer attacks more than 15 days a month. The companies agreed in January 2011 to co-promote Levadex should it gain approval.
“We plan to capitalize on this depth of expertise in neurology as we continue the global development of Levadex as a potential acute treatment for migraine that is complementary to Botox and use Map’s proprietary drug particle and inhalation technologies to generate new pipeline opportunities,” Pyott said in the statement.
Allergan shares gained less than 1% to close at $105.75 in New York. The shares have increased 20% in the last 12 months.
More than 36 million Americans suffer from migraines, a neurological condition that triggers headaches, dizziness, nausea and sensitivity to sound and light. The global market for migraine treatments should increase 38% to $4.4 billion from $3.2 billion in 2013, according to Burlington, Mass.-based Decision Resources. If approved, Levadex may be worth $1 billion a year by 2020, the firm said.
