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NEW YORK and NEWTON, Mass. — Forest Laboratories Inc. plans to buy specialty pharmaceutical firm Clinical Data Inc. in a deal valued at $1.2 billion.
The companies said Tuesday that under the agreement, Forest will acquire Clinical Data for $30 per share in cash plus up to $6 per share upon achievement of certain commercial milestones related to Viibryd, Clinical Data’s antidepressant drug. The transaction was approved by the boards of both companies and is expected to be completed in the second quarter.
Forest noted that the acquisition deal will enable it to grow its presence in the antidepressant category via the launch of Viibryd (vilazodone HCL tablets), which gained Food and Drug Administration approval in late January for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder (MDD). Forest said that with Celexa and Lexapro, it has a proven track record of successfully commercializing novel antidepressants, and the company reported that the market for the treatment of MDD is over 200 million prescriptions annually and rising.
Plans call for Forest to launch Viibryd in the United States during the second half of 2011, and the company said Viibryd is expected to retain market exclusivity until March 2020.
"We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Clinical Data. Depression is a debilitating disease that affects the daily lives of millions of patients. We believe that we are uniquely positioned to bring Viibryd to market in light of our long and successful experience of clinical development and expertise in the antidepressant market," Forest Labs chairman and chief executive officer Howard Solomon said in a statement.
"This transaction is consistent with our strategy to acquire new products that will help offset the loss of revenues due to patent expiries," Solomon added. "Viibryd will be the second new product that we expect to launch this year in addition to Teflaro. In addition, we are hopeful to obtain FDA approval later this quarter for Daxas (roflumilast), for the treatment of COPD. We plan to submit New Drug Applications for aclidinium and linaclotide in the second half of this year and for two additional products in calendar 2012."
According to Forest, the launch of Viibryd will require significant incremental marketing and sales investment, including a planned sales force expansion. Additional sales resources will be necessary in order to adequately support Viibryd, as well as the drug maker’s currently marketed products Teflaro, Savella, Bystolic, Namenda and Lexapro and the anticipated launch of Daxas.
