Valeant acquires ‘female Viagra’ maker Sprout

LAVAL, Quebec and RALEIGH, N.C. — Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced that it would be acquiring Sprout Pharmaceuticals. The acquisition will be for $1 billion in cash, plus a share of future profits given some milestones are achieved.

The news of the acquisition comes a day after Sprout received FDA approval for its Addyi  (filbanserin), a treatment for premenopausal women with generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) — dubbed “female Viagra” by many in the lead-up to its approval.

“Delivering a first-ever treatment for a commonly reported form of female sexual dysfunction gives us the perfect opportunity to establish a new portfolio of important medications that uniquely impact women,” Valeant’s CEO and Chairman J. Michael Pearson said. “We applaud the efforts of the Sprout team to address this important area of unmet need and look forward to working with them to bring the benefits of Addyi to additional markets around the world.”

Sprout’s headquarters in North Carolina will become a Valeant division and Sprout CEO Cindy Whitehead will oversee it and Addyi’s commercialization, reporting to Valeant’s EVP and Company Group Chairman Anne Whitaker.

“I am extremely proud of the commitment and passion of our 34 employees who have been mission-driven to get to this breakthrough first for women,” Whitehead said. “This partnership with Valeant allows us the capacity to now ensure broader, more affordable access to all the women who have been waiting for this treatment.  Beyond building this in the United States, Valeant also offers us a global footprint that could eventually bring Addyi to women across the globe."

Valeant expects Addyi to be available in the fourth quarter of 2015 and it will be distributed through pharmacies and prescribers certified under the FDA’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) that is in place to ensure the drug’s safe use. Valeant will also offer certification for prescribers and pharmacies once the transaction closes.