BioCentury
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Otsuka buying Avanir for $3.5B

December 3, 2014 2:50 AM UTC

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) will acquire Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:AVNR) for $3.5 billion, or $17 per share. The price represents a 13% premium to Avanir's closing price of $15 on Dec. 1 before the deal was announced. The deal is expected to close in 1Q15.

In September, Avanir's market cap nearly doubled to $2.1 billion after AVP-923 met the primary endpoint in a Phase II trial to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). AVP-923 combines the NMDA receptor antagonist dextromethorphan with quinidine sulfate, a cytochrome P450 2D6 enzyme inhibitor. The compound also is in Phase II testing to treat Parkinson's disease levodopa-induced dyskinesia (PD-LID) (see BioCentury Extra, Sept. 15). ...