Myriad grabs pain drug in $91M Javelin buyout

Myriad Pharmaceuticals has snared Javelin Pharmaceuticals and its promising post-operative pain drug Dyloject in an all-stock deal initially valued at $91 million. Javelin (JAV) shareholders will start out holding 41 percent of the shares of the combined company but could see their stake jump to 45 percent depending on the timing of an FDA approval of Dyloject.

Cambridge, MA-based Javelin filed its NDA for Dyloject--an injectable version of the commonly used NSAID diclofenac sodium--earlier this month. And Myriad appears eager to pounce on the market. "Myriad is well positioned to successfully launch Dyloject upon FDA approval by leveraging our financial resources and the expertise of our core commercial team," said Myriad Chief Executive Adrian Hobden.

Salt Lake City-based Myriad is also paying up to $6 million to cover interim operating costs ahead of the deal closing, which is planned for the first quarter of next year. Shares of Myriad slid 10 percent after investors heard that the company was providing a 22 percent premium on Javelin's shares in the deal.

It hasn't been all clear sailing for Javelin this year. The developer's shares tanked last summer when a late-stage trial of the pain drug Ereska barely missed hitting its primary endpoint.

- here's the release from Myriad
- see the Dow Jones report
- check out the story from Reuters

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