Merck (NYSE:MRK) is acquiring Raleigh, North Carolina-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISPH) for $430 million under a definitive agreement announced Tuesday.
Under the agreement, a Merck subsidiary will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Inspire at a price of $5 per share cash. That’s 26 percent more than Inspire’s April 4 close of $3.98. The deal has already been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The deal will bring Inspire’s ophthalmic care products into the fold of one of the industry’s largest pharmaceutical companies. Merck reported $45.9 billion in 2010 revenue. Inspire reported $106.3 million in 2010 revenue from its eye products. Inspire generates revenue from sales of Azasite, a treatment for bacterial conjunctivitis; Restasis, a dry eye treatment drug; and Elestat, a treatment for eye itchiness associated with allergies.
Beverly Lybrand, Merck’s senior vice president and general manager, neuroscience and ophthalmology, said in a prepared statement that the acquisition strengthens Merck’s ophthalmology business and positions the company for future growth with an expanded portfolio. Merck earlier this month announced the filing of an investigational new drug application for saflutan, a glaucoma drug candidate.
The acquisition agreement follows Inspire’s failed attempt to diversify by adding pulmonary therapeutics to its product portfolio. Earlier this year, Inspire announced that a cystic fibrosis drug candidate had failed in late-stage clinical trials. Shortly afterward, the company announced a restructuring that resulted in layoffs as Inspire ended its pulmonary therapeutics efforts and refocused the business on eye care products.
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