Mitsubishi Tanabe to buy NeuroDerm for $1.1bn

Mitsubishi Tanabe has agreed to acquire NeuroDerm, a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, for $1.1 billion.

Announced yesterday, July 24, the deal will see Mitsubishi pay $39 per share in cash for the Israel-based company, which develops drug-device combinations for central nervous system disorders.

ND0612, NeuroDerm’s phase III Parkinson’s disease product candidate, is expected to launch in 2019.

“Additionally, the acquisition of ND0612 through the transaction is intended to enable Mitsubishi to achieve its US sales target of 80 billion yen [$718 million] by FY 2020, which is part of its medium-term management plan,” said Mitsubishi in a statement.

According to Mitsubishi, the first step towards advancing its “franchise” in the US is to launch Radicava (edaravone), a treatment option for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in August this year.

Oded Lieberman, CEO of NeuroDerm, said in a statement: “Mitsubishi has demonstrated development and commercialisation expertise in the field of neurology and we are confident that the combination of their resources and the robust data supporting ND0612 … will help make this important new therapy available as broadly and rapidly as possible.”

The transaction, which is subject to shareholder approval, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

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