Soleno buyout for $2.9B puts Neurocrine’s strength behind Prader-Willi drug

Neurocrine’s $2.9 billion acquisition of Soleno gives the large-cap biotech the only approved drug for hyperphagia associated with Prader-Willi syndrome, putting further commercial strength behind a therapy whose market penetration is likely to deepen in the absence of competition.

Approved in March 2025, Vykat XR diazoxide choline from Soleno Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:SLNO) became the first drug to address hyperphagia, the insatiable hunger that affects Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) patients. Although growth hormone receptor agonist Norditropin somatropin from Novo Nordisk A/S (CSE:NOVO B; NYSE:NVO) is approved for growth restriction in PWS patients, it’s contraindicated in many patients, making Vykat, a small molecule KATP agonist, a preferred treatment...