The Medicines Company
(
MDCO
) recently announced that it has completed its acquisition of
Incline Therapeutics, Inc., for an upfront fee of $185
million.
In addition, The Medicines Company will shell out up to $205
million on the achievement of regulatory and commercial
targets
With this acquisition, Ionsys (fentanyl iontophoretic
transdermal system) has become a part of The Medicines Company's
pipeline. Ionsys is a compact, disposable, needleless
patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system which is being
developed for the short-term management of acute postoperative
pain in the hospital setting.
Incline is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Medicines
Company. The acquisition agreement was announced in Dec. 2012.
The acquisition should strengthen The Medicines Company's
position as a leader in acute and intensive care medicine on a
worldwide basis.
We note that Ionsys was approved by the European and US
regulatory agencies and subsequently launched in Europe. However,
the system was recalled voluntarily in Europe due to device
stability issues and was never launched in the US.
The Medicines Company is looking to re-submit the regulatory
applications in the near term and maybe launch the product in the
US in early 2014 and the EU in 2015. The Medicines Company is
forecasting peak sales of $800 million for Ionsys.
With The Medicines Company planning to invest in manufacturing
and technical development as well as regulatory requirements for
Ionsys, the Incline Therapeutics acquisition is expected to be
modestly dilutive in 2013.
Earlier,
Cadence Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(
CADX
) had expressed intent to acquire Incline but subsequently
terminated the deal in Dec. 2012. Cadence received
approximately $13.1 million as termination fee and is entitled to
receive approximately $1.5 million as milestone
payments.
We believe that Ionsys, once commercialized, will support
long-term growth. Right now, pharma stock
Palatin Technologies Inc.
(
PTN
) looks attractive with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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