Johnson & Johnson in talks to acquire Actelion

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) on Friday confirmed that it has engaged in preliminary discussions with Swiss biopharmaceutical company Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd regarding a potential transaction. Actelion, which sells drugs for rare diseases, reported revenue of Swiss Francs (CHF) 2.05 billion and a profit of CHF 551.9 million in 2015.

Actelion Ltd - a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of innovative drugs for diseases with significant unmet medical needs - is one of the leading players in the field of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Its portfolio of PAH treatments covers the spectrum of disease, from WHO Functional Class (FC) II through to FC IV, with oral, inhaled and intravenous medications. Although not available in all countries, Actelion has treatments approved by health authorities for a number of specialist diseases including Type 1 Gaucher disease, Niemann-Pick type C disease, Digital Ulcers in patients suffering from systemic sclerosis, and mycosis fungoides type cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.