Last month we wrote about one of the largest pharmaceutical deals of the summer, which was Valeant Pharmaceuticals International’s (NYSE: VRX) acquisition of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation (NYSE: MRX) for $2.6 billion. Since then, it has been a relatively lackluster market. Other than the Medicis deal, which was announced over the Labor Day weekend, the transactions have been relatively small. The largest of which, coincidentally, was Valeant’s acquisition of the U.S. rights to Visudyne, which is used to treat abnormal growth of leaky blood vessels in the eye caused by wet age-related macular degeneration. Canada-based QLT Inc. (NASDAQ: QLTI) sold the U.S. rights and inventories for $112.5 million in upfront cash plus up to $20 million in various milestone payments.
In a similar-size deal, the pharmaceuticals division of Covidien (NYSE: COV), known as Mallinckrodt, struck a deal to buy privately-owned CNS Therapeutics for $100 million cash. CNS focuses on products for site-specific administration to the central nervous system to treat neurological disorders and intractable chronic pain. The acquisition is expected to close later in the fourth quarter but it is not expected to have a material impact on 2013 sales or earnings per share………Want to read more? Click here for a free trial to The Health Care M&A Information Source and download the current issue today
