United Therapeutics (NSDQ:UTHR) today signed a deal to acquire competitor SteadyMed (NSDQ:STDY) for $4.46 per share in cash at closing and $2.63 per share in cash if the combined company can win approval for SteadyMed’s Trevyent drug-device combination therapy.
The merger, valued at $216 million, combines two companies that were in court as recently as last November, fighting over patents covering treprostinil, the active ingredient in both companies’ lead products.
SteadyMed’s Trevyent drug-pump, which was rejected by the FDA last year, is designed for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.
“We are optimistic about acquiring SteadyMed and adding Trevyent to our pipeline of products to treat PAH,” United’s chairman & CEO Martine Rothblatt said in prepared remarks. “We are especially impressed with SteadyMed’s management team and global supply chain. Trevyent fits in well with our mission, and we look forward to bringing the product to the maximum number of patients as soon as possible.”
“United Therapeutics has always been at the forefront of developing therapies to treat PAH, and we are delighted at the prospect of our companies coming together, as one, to continue that mission,” SteadyMed’s president & CEO Jonathan Rigby added.
