Teva Acquires NuPathe, Expands Central Nervous System (CNS) Specialty With Zecuity
Teva Pharmaceuticals announced it has acquired NuPathe Inc. for $144 million under a definitive agreement. The Israel-based company is primarily interested in acquiring NuPathe’s migraine treatment, Zecuity.
Teva will make an upfront cash payment of an estimated $144 million or $3.65 per share in cash for its acquisition. Under the agreement, NuPathe shareholders will be awarded rights to receive additional payments of up to $3.15 per share if Zecuity’s specified net sales are reached over time.
Teva CNS Vice President and General Manager Mike Derkacz said, “We believe that ZECUITY is a great fit within our existing U.S. CNS Business Unit, with near-term sales and significant commercial potential.”
Zecuity is used to treat both migraine headache pain and migraine related nausea. It is available as a disposable, single-use ionthophoretic transdermal patch that directly delivers sumatriptan through the skin. Sumatriptan is currently the most widely prescribed medication for migraines. By initiating transdermal delivery during a migraine attack, Zecuity bypasses the gastrointestinal track. Its internal microprocessor allows it to continuously monitor skin resistance and adjust delivery of sumatriptan during the four-hour dosing period.
Zecuity is the first and currently the only FDA-approved prescription migraine patch for acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. Zecuity exhibited good safety profile and efficacy after two hours of patch medication. The drug was approved based on Phase III trials of development programs involving 793 patients and almost 10,000 Zecuity patches.
Derkacz said, “ZECUITY enables rapid transdermal delivery of sumatriptan and bypasses the GI tract to avoid issues with oral intake, addressing an important, unmet patient need, especially for those with migraine-related nausea. At Teva, we will leverage our unique Shared Solutions infrastructure to support patient utilization of this important new medicine for migraine sufferers.”
Source:
http://www.ir.tevapharm.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=73925&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=1892128