The specialty pharmaceutical company, Shire plc, has agreed to acquire NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for rare diseases, for $46.00 per share in cash for a total consideration of approximately $5.2 billion. The transaction has been approved unanimously by the boards of directors of both Shire and NPS Pharma. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.

NPS Pharma’s first product, Gattex/Revestive (teduglutide [rDNA origin]) for injection, is approved in the United States and Europe to treat adults with short bowel syndrome (SBS) who are dependent on parenteral support. Gattex received orphan drug designation and was approved in the US in December 2012. For the first nine months of 2014, it generated sales of $67.9 million.

NPS Pharma also has a registration phase product, Natpara/Natpar (rhPTH -83), for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism, a rare endocrine disorder characterized by insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone. The drug is currently under review in the US with the US Food and Drug Administration for which the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date for the biologics license application is January 24, 2015. In Europe, the European Medicines Agency has validated and initiated its review of NPS Pharma's marketing authorization application for Natpar.

NPS Pharma also is developing teduglutide as a treatment for pediatric SBS. NPS Pharma is currently conducting a global study for teduglutide in pediatric patients with SBS who are dependent on parenteral support. NPS Pharma is also investigating NPSP795, a small-molecule antagonist of the calcium-sensing receptor, which is believed to play a role in the distribution of PTH -83 throughout the body by antagonizing calcium-sensing receptors on the parathyroid gland to trigger a release of the body’s stores of PTH -83. NPSP795 is in development as a treatment for autosomal dominant hypocalcemia. There is no approved therapy for this ultra-rare, life-long genetic disorder that affects both adults and children.

The value of NPS Pharma's gross assets were $282.2 million with net assets totaling $130.9 million as of September 30, 2014. NPS Pharma's losses before tax for the three and nine month periods ending September 30, 2014 were $1.9 million and $6.2 million, respectively.

NPS Pharma currently has several partnerships in place. Amgen markets cinacalcet HCl as Sensipar in the US and as Mimpara in the European Union. Janssen Pharmaceuticals markets tapentadol as Nucynta in the US, and Kyowa Hakko Kirin markets cinacalcet HCI as Regpara in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Macau, Singapore, and Taiwan. NPS Pharma earned royalty revenues of $123.8 million for 2013 and $89.5 million for the first nine months ending September 30, 2014.

Source: Shire