Valeant to acquire Salix for $14.5B
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. (TSX:RVX; NYSE:VRX) will acquire Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ:SLXP) for $158 per share, or $14.5 billion in cash.
Salix markets a portfolio of gastrointestinal drugs including Xifaxan rifaximin, which accounted for $414.3 million in sales, or 37% of Salix's total product revenue, in the first nine months of 2014. The company markets the non-absorbed, broad-spectrum antibiotic in the U.S. and Canada to reduce the risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy recurrence in patients with advanced liver disease, and to treat travelers' diarrhea caused by noninvasive strains of Escherichia coli. An sNDA for Xifaxan to treat irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea (IBS-D) is under FDA review with a PDUFA date in May. ...