2015年1月17日讯/生物谷BIOON/--DepoMed近日宣布花费10.5亿美元收购强生的止痛药Nucynta在美国的商业许可权，Nucynta是由强生旗下Janssen Pharmaceuticals单元研发的。DepoMed旨在通过此次收购将自己建设成为疼痛和神经学方面的专门企业。
按照合同，DepoMed将会获得Nucynta在美国地区的许可权，而在日本、加拿大等其它国家，该药品的权利仍然属于Janssen。
DepoMed目前还在收购Nucynta早期的版本，能够治疗中度到重度的疼痛，以及还未上市的液体制剂。这桩总市值达10.5亿美元的交易预计将于2015年第二季度收官，此番DepoMed如此不惜血本重金收购Nucynta，想必是认定了Nucynta将会对公司未来发展具有极大的动作用。
DepoMed认为Nucynta在2014年的预计净收入将会增长2.5倍，估计为2.32—2.42亿美元左右，DepoMed打算在收购完成时公布更多细节。
2013年9月至2014年9月这12个月当中，Nucynta为Janssen贡献了1.66亿美元的销售额，比DepoMed在2013年的销售总额1.34亿美元还多。
此次交易达成后，DepoMed从今年开始的销售额预期将会调整。DepoMed的董事长Jim Schoeneck表示，收购Nucynta对DepoMed而言是一次理想的战略匹配，这次机会对DepoMed非常难得，拥有cynta长期的专利权也正好符合DepoMed治疗领域的重心。
DepoMed下一步计划将Nucynta重新引入市场，DepoMed的专利保护将会持续到2022年，届时将会把Nucynta打造成市场上一款治疗慢性疼痛和糖尿病引发的神经损伤的药物。
Nucynta于2008年获FDA批准治疗糖尿病周围神经病变引发的重度疼痛，它的缓释制剂也于2011年获批。
DepoMed在其产品组合中已经含有止痛药，包括治疗偏头痛的药物Cambia。
此次交易中5亿美元是DepoMed预留的，而其余部分将会以债务和股权的形式支付。DepoMed已经让摩根士丹利担任其财务顾问，以及贝克博茨律师事务所担任其法律顾问。
交易成功后一个小时，DepoMed的股票就上涨了4.87%，达到了18.51美元每股。(生物谷Bioon.com)
原文 DepoMed Inc Enters Into $1.05 Billion Deal To Buy US Rights To Johnson & Johnson Painkiller
DepoMed Inc (NASDAQ：DEPO) has announced a $1.05 billion deal to acquire US license rights to painkiller Nucynta developed by Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceuticals unit， as the company looks to establish itself as a specialty pharmaceutical focused on pain and neurology.
As per the all-cash deal， Newark， California-based DepoMed will be gaining US license rights to the opioid pill Nucynta， while the rights to the drug for other countries including Japan and Canada will remain with Janssen.
The company will also be acquiring a previous version of the drug for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pain as well as a liquid formulation of the drug which has not been introduced in the market yet. The deal， which is worth as much as DepoMed’s overall market capitalization of $1.05 billion， is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015. DepoMed’s decision to enter into such a highly priced agreement for rights to a drug in a single country indicates that the company has identified the drug to hold huge potential for itself in the future.
The decision to enter into such an expensive deal is backed by the company’s belief that the drug would increase its 2014 projected net product revenue by 2.5 times； the company earlier projected sales for 2014 to be around $232-242 million. The company plans to report a more detailed and accurate forecast once the deal is finalized and closed.
Nucynta generated sales of about $166 million for Janssen for the 12-month period ending September 2014， which is higher than the entire 2013 sales of $134 million for DepoMed.
The deal is expected to boost DepoMed’s adjusted earnings starting this year only. DepoMed Chief Executive Officer Jim Schoeneck mentioned in a statement： “We believe that Nucynta is an ideal strategic fit for DepoMed – a rare opportunity to add a proprietary， differentiated drug with a lengthy period of exclusivity that fits precisely into our therapeutic focus.”
The company further mentioned its plans to reintroduce the drug， which is under patent protection till 2022， into the market as a treatment for chronic pain as well as nerve damage resulting from diabetes.
Nucynta was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration back in 2008 for the treatment of severe pain linked to diabetic peripheral neuropathy， with the extended-release form of the painkiller winning approval in 2011.
DepoMed already has pain-relieving products in its portfolio， including the migraine treatment drug Cambia.
The company has said it will finance the deal with the $500 million which it had already reserved for the purpose； the rest of the funding will be carried out through a combination of debt and equity. The company has hired Morgan Stanley as its financial advisor and Baker Botts as its legal advisor.
DepoMed shares were up 4.87% to $18.51 in after-hours trading yesterday.