Shire acquisition ‘to capture full value of Vyvanse’

Shire has announced that it is to acquire New River Pharmaceuticals, with this acquisition enabling the firm to capture the full economic value of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment Vyvanse.

The transaction is values at a total of $2.6 billion (1.33 billion pounds), equating to a price of $64 for each New River share. The agreement for this acquisition has been recommended unanimously by the board of directors of both companies.

Shire had previously entered into a collaboration agreement with New River for the co-development of Vyvanse as a treatment for ADHD in January 2005.

Matthew Emmens, chief executive officer of Shire, said: “This is an important and complementary acquisition that gives us full control of Vyvanse, a novel drug.”

He added that the firm was confident that the final labelling of the pharmaceutical would result in a product that provides genuinely distinct benefits for patients when compared with other ADHD treatments.

Shire commented that a launch strategy from a single company with past experience in marketing ADHD treatments will result in the best use of the compound, citing its history with Adderall over the last ten years.

Last December, Shire announced that Vyvanse had been granted an approval letter from the US Food and Drug Administration, with an anticipated launch of the product planned for the second quarter of 2007.