Medicines Co. strikes 2 deals worth $300M
Medicines Co. buys needle-free pain drug maker Incline; licenses bleeding drug Recothrom
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Medicines Co. said Wednesday that it will pay $185 million to buy a company that makes a needle-free pain drug, and licensed a surgical bleeding drug from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. for about $115 million.
The Parsippany, N.J., company agreed to buy Incline Therapeutics and hopes to launch its drug Ionsys in 2014. The drug was approved in 2006 as a treatment for acute pain after surgery, but it was withdrawn from the European market two years later because of problems with the delivery device. It was never launched in the U.S.
The Bristol-Myers deal gives Medicines Co. the ability to market the anti-bleeding drug Recothrom for the next two years.
Medicines Co. sells Angiomax, an anti-clotting drug. The company's shares rose 42 cents to $22.27 in afternoon trading. Bristol-Myers Squibb shares rose 18 cents to $33.25.
Medicines Co. said it will file for new marketing approvals for Ionsys soon. The company could begin selling the drug in the U.S. in early 2014 and may launch it in Europe soon after that. It will make additional payments to Incline Therapeutics if the drug meets regulatory and commercial targets. The company expects the deal to close during the first quarter of 2013.
The company agreed to make an upfront payment of $105 million to Bristol-Myers Squibb, and the deal also includes a $10 million upfront fee. Bristol-Myers Squibb will also get royalties on sales over the next two years.
Medicines Co. said sales of Recothrom totaled $65 million in 2011. The drug is approved in the U.S. and Canada. Medicines Co. said it will seek marketing approvals in other countries. It expects the drug will add to its net income next year.
Sales of Angiomax totaled about $484 million in 2011, and over the first three quarters of 2012 sales have grown 12 percent to $393 million.
