Shire divests ADHD drug Daytrana to Noven Pharma; says 2010 earnings outlook unchanged

Dublin, Ireland-based specialty biopharmaceutical company Shire is divesting global rights to its Daytrana (methylphenidate transdermal system) to Noven Pharmaceuticals of the USA. Daytrana, which is approved and marketed in the US for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, will continue to be available for patients through Noven.

Shire's divestiture agreement grants Noven global marketing rights for Daytrana - which generated sales of $71 million in 2009 - and is effective October 1, 2010. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed, although Shire noted that the book value of the assets to be disposed is around $95 million (or a gross, pre-amortization value of approximately $150 million). Shire said that its 2010 outlook of non-GAAP earnings trending towards $4.00 per American Depositary Receipt, which was recently announced in its second quarter earnings press release (The Pharma Letter August 5), is unchanged.

Shire, which is in the process of acquiring Belgian firm Movetis for around $558 million to expand its gastrointestinal portfolio (TPL August 4), saw its shares rise 1.8% to £14.98 yesterday. However, this was likely caused by an upgrade from analysts at JP Morgan, as well as a rising drug sector market, where GlaxoSmithKline rose 2.2% to £11.77 and AstraZeneca advanced 1.3% to $33.48.