Recordati buys US portfolio of drugs from Lundbeck

Italian drugmaker Recordati *RC: MI) has signed an agreement for the acquisition of all rights concerning a portfolio of products indicated for the treatment of rare and other diseases and marketed mainly in the USA, from Denmark’ Lundbeck (LUND: DC).

The value of the transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, is $100 million. The initial payment of $80 million will be made at closing and the remaining payment of $20 million is subject to product registration transfers. The deal is subject to certain conditions. Expected revenues in 2013 for the acquired portfolio are of around $45 million in 2011, Lundbeck noted.

The acquired portfolio will be marketed in the US by Recordati Rare Diseases, a wholly-owned US corporation. The main product in the portfolio is Panhematin (hemin for injection) for the amelioration of recurrent attacks of acute intermittent porphyria. Other important drugs acquired are NeoProfen (ibuprofen lysine injection) and Indocin IV (indomethacin injection), indicated to close a clinically significant patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature infants, and Cosmegen (dactinomycin for injection) used mainly in the treatment of three rare cancers: Wilms’ tumor, childhood rhabdomyosarcoma and choriocarcinoma. The portfolio also includes Chemet (succimer) indicated for the treatment of lead poisoning in pediatric patients, Desoxyn (methamphetamine hydrochloride) indicated for the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children over six years of age and for the short-term treatment of exogenous obesity, and other minor products.