By Erin McCarthy
Merck & Co. agreed to buy Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a
bid to expand its portfolio of hepatitis C treatments.
The pharmaceutical company said it will acquire Idenix for
$24.50 per share in cash, more than three times Idenix's closing
price Friday.
Idenix is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing
treatments for human viral diseases, including hepatitis C. The
company currently has three hepatitis C drug candidates in clinical
development, the companies said. It has no products on the
market.
"Idenix's investigational hepatitis C candidates complement our
promising therapies in development" and will help to develop a
highly effective, once-daily, all-oral treatment, said Dr. Roger
Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories.
Merck has several hepatitis C medicines in development,
including one that has received breakthrough therapy designation
from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company said.
Spending on specialty drugs, including treatments for hepatitis
C, are expected to surge in the next two years, according to an
April report from Express Scripts. It had forecast the U.S. will
spend 1,800% more on hepatitis C medications in 2016 than it did in
2013.
The deal, which has been approved by both companies' boards, is
expected to close in the third quarter.
Write to Erin McCarthy at erin.mccarthy@wsj.com
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