Endo Pharmaceuticals' CEO David Holveck, a Johnson & Johnson alum, is modeling his company after the Big Pharma. Gabelli & Co analyst Kevin Kedra notes that Lidoderm--a patch to treat post-shingles nerve pain--will account for 47 percent of Endo's 2010 sales. Faced with the the loss of patent protection for it's main drug in 2015, the pharma company has been making deals to diversify.
Since Holveck took over at Endo in 2008, he's had in excess of $1 billion for deals to offset the Lidoderm patent loss. Earlier this month, Endo purchased Penwest Pharmaceuticals for about $168 million, giving the developer Penwest's interests in Opana ER, a therapy that the two biotech companies have been working on for the past 13 years, along with a pipeline of experimental therapies and new delivery tech. In May, Endo paid $223 million for HealthTronics, which markets urology products and services. And last year, the developer put down $370 million for Indevus Pharmaceuticals. And despite all of those deals, Holveck has $550 million more available for more acquisitions.
"The company wants to cover the whole health care spectrum," Kedra tells Investors Business Daily. "Not just drugs, but also devices and services."
- read the IBD report for more