Valeant Pharmaceuticals will beef up its presence in the dermatology field with today's deal to buy Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences for $285 million in cash.
The buyout gives Valeant control of the newly-approved acne treatment Acanya, which was OK'd for mild to moderate acne. Acanya is expected to launch in early 2009. Valeant says it will pay $250 million when the deal closes and set up an escrow account for $35 million. And it has agreed to pay milestones as well as the cash.
Valeant notes that Dow has products in clinical development for the treatment of rosacea, moderate to severe acne, fungal infections and common warts. "We expect one or more products to enter a Phase III trial in 2009, with an expected launch as early as 2012."
"This acquisition grows our scale and capabilities in dermatology thus solidifying Valeant's future as a leading company in the development and commercialization of dermatology medications," stated J. Michael Pearson, Valeant's chairman and chief executive officer. "Gordon Dow, the founder of Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, and his team are highly regarded with innovative formulation and development expertise, exemplified by having worked on ten dermatology approvals from the FDA in the past few years and with projects underway in eight of the top ten dermatology diagnoses."
- read Valeant's release for more info