Valeant Buys-Out Rights to All Current and Future Income and Milestone Obligations From Former Dow Stockholders
ALISO VIEJO, Calif., Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) today announced that, for a one-time payment of $115 million, it has agreed to buy-out income rights associated with all out-licensed and pipeline products and the former stockholders of Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc. have agreed to release Valeant from up to $235 million in milestone obligations they could have received upon successful commercialization of Dow pipeline compounds currently under development. Income rights to the 1% clindamycin and 5% benzoyl peroxide gel Abbreviated New Drug Application were excluded from the acquisition of Dow by Valeant in December 2008.
"We believe this transaction creates significant short-term and long-term value for Valeant shareholders," stated J. Michael Pearson, chairman and chief executive officer. "In the short-term, we immediately offset the erosion from our ribavirin royalties and in the longer-term, we could avoid considerable future milestone obligations that would be incurred if we successfully commercialize our dermatology compounds acquired from Dow. After reviewing phase II results on three of our dermatology compounds and meeting with the FDA this past summer, we believe these compounds have strong potential for future success. We can now turn our efforts to moving these compounds into phase III studies and continuing to focus on building a strong dermatology franchise."
About Valeant
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (NYSE: VRX) is a multinational specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of pharmaceutical products primarily in the areas of neurology and dermatology. More information about Valeant can be found at www.valeant.com.