Horizon Pharma plc, a specialty pharmaceutical company, and Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing treatments for orphan diseases, have formed an agreement under which Horizon Pharma will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Hyperion’s common stock for $46.00 per share in cash or approximately $1.1 billion on a fully diluted basis. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards of directors and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

The move increases the number of Horizon’s products from five to seven, with the addition of Ravicti and Buphenyl to Horizon’s orphan business unit, providing additional revenue diversification. Ravicti and Buphenyl are medicines for people with urea cycle disorders (UCDs), a collection of inherited metabolic disorders, which impact approximately 2,100 people in the United States with approximately 1,100 diagnosed. A marketing authorization application has been filed for European marketing of Ravicti. The prevalence of UCD is similar in Europe and other international markets. Combined net sales for Ravicti and Buphenyl were $113.6 million.

Source: Horizon Pharma