Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., has completed its previously announced acquisition of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for approximately $3.5 billion in equity value. The acquisition is expected to enhance Teva's core central nervous system franchise.

Auspex is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in applying deuterium chemistry to known molecules to create novel therapies with the potential for improved safety and efficacy profiles. Its lead compound is SD-809 (deutetrabenazine) for the potential treatment of chorea associated with Huntington's disease, tardive dyskinesia, and Tourette syndrome. In April 2015, data were presented on topline results of a Phase III study of SD-809 in Huntington's in a platform presentation at the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting. The compound has been granted orphan drug status by the US Food and Drug Administration, and the new drug application s expected to be submitted in the second quarter of this year.

Source: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries