Valeant on acquisition trail again

In a third acquisition deal announced so far this year, Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (TSX: VRX) said yesterday that it has acquired a 19.9% minority equity investment in Pele Nova Biotecnologia SA, a Brazilian research company focused on tissue regeneration.

In return for the ownership, for which Valeant paid less than $10 million, the Canadian firm will have representation on Pele Nova's board of directors, a reduced royalty rate for Regederm, rights to all future products in Brazil, and the first right of refusal for global product rights. Regederm, a biologic wound healing product, was recently approved in Brazil and is expected to be launched in April of 2012.

Valeant has already announced it is buying privately-held ophthalmic company Eyetech (The Pharma Letter February 14) and also allergy and ophthalmic specialist ISTA Pharma, although it has pulled out of the latter $327 million deal, which was rejected by the company as being inadequate.