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The
health care giant said Monday that it will pay $132 in cash for
each share of Intra-Cellular. That represents a 39% premium to
Intra-Cellular’s closing price of $94.87 on Friday.
Shares of both companies climbed Monday after announcing the
deal.
Intra-Cellular Therapies Inc. makes Caplyta, a once-daily pill
for treating adults with schizophrenia and depression tied to
bipolar disorder. The drug brought in $175 million in last
year’s third quarter as total prescriptions increased 38%.
Intra-Cellular said last fall it was expanding its sales force
to target growth opportunities with primary care doctors. The
company also is seeking U.S. Food and Drug Administration
approval to use the drug as supplemental treatment for adults
with major depressive disorder.
Wall Street expects sales of the drug to grow past $1 billion
next year and top $2.5 billion by 2028, according to the data
firm FactSet.
Intra-Cellular’s pipeline of drugs under development also
includes a potential treatment for anxiety and psychosis and
agitation tied to Alzheimer’s disease. That drug is in mid-stage
testing.
J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, says it will pay for
the deal, valued at about $14.6 billion, with a combination of
cash and debt. The companies expect the deal to close later this
year.
Monday’s announcement comes a few days after Intra-Cellular
settled a patent lawsuit over when a cheaper, generic version of
Caplyta can enter the U.S. market. The company said Friday that
drugmaker Sandoz Inc. can start selling a generic version in
2040 or earlier under circumstances it didn’t detail in a brief
statement.
The company has submitted the deal to federal regulators for
review, and it still has other patent cases pending in federal
court.
Shares of Intra-Cellular, based in Bedminster, New-Jersey,
jumped about 34% to $127.10 Monday. J&J’s stock edged up 1% to
$143.45
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