Allergan, a healthcare products company based in Irvine, California, plans to purchase MAP Pharmaceuticals for $958 million. MAP Pharmaceuticals manufactures Levadex, an experimental drug for the treatment of migraines.

Both companies have signed a definitive agreement for the sale. The sale is met with approval by the board of directors at both companies. Allergan will pay $25 per share for the purchase of MAP Pharmaceuticals. This per-share purchase price is 60 percent higher than MAP Pharmaceutical’s current share value. Allergan believes that MAP Pharmaceutical’s flagship product, Levadex, has significant commercial and regulatory potential in the United States.

Levadex is a drug designed for the treatment of rapid-onset migraines in adults. The medication is designed for use as an oral inhalant. In January of 2011, MAP Pharmaceuticals entered an agreement with Allergan to co-market the drug. In March of that year, MAP Pharmaceuticals submitted Levadex for approval with the United States Food and Drug Administration. Based on comments and feedback from the FDA, MAP Pharmaceuticals resubmitted its New Drug Application (NDA) in October of 2012 to include additional research data. In November of 2012, the company announced that the FDA had accepted its revised application for further review.

David Pyott is the CEO and president of Allergan. In prepared remarks, he said, "We plan to capitalize on this depth of expertise in Neurology as we continue the global development of Levadex as a potential acute treatment for migraine that is complementary to Botox and use MAP's proprietary drug particle and inhalation technologies to generate new pipeline opportunities."

References

http://agn.client.shareholder.com/releases.cfm