Valeant to acquire maker of female viagra for $1 bn

New York, Aug 21 (IANS/EFE) Canadian drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said it has agreed to acquire North Carolina-based Sprout Pharmaceuticals, maker of a pill that increases women's sexual desire, for $1 billion in cash and a share of future profits.

The announcement, on Thursday, comes two days after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug, flibanserin, for the treatment of "acquired, generalised hypoactive sexual desire disorder in pre-menopausal women".

"Delivering a first ever treatment for a commonly reported form of female sexual dysfunction gives us the perfect opportunity to establish a new portfolio of important medications that uniquely impact women," Valeant Chairman and CEO J. Michael Pearson was quoted as saying in the statement.

Under the terms of the deal, Montreal-based Valeant will make two cash payments of $500 million, the first upon the closing of the transaction and the second in the first quarter of 2016, and also provide a share of future profits "based upon the achievement of certain milestones".

The drug, to be marketed in the US as Addyi, is the first ever FDA-approved treatment for loss of sexual desire.

Valeant said it expects Addyi will be available in the US in the fourth quarter of 2015.

Valeant's shares, which have more than doubled in price over the past 12 months and climbed 66 percent since January 1, were down more than 4 percent at $234.98 per share in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

--IANS/EFE

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