Alkermes to merge with Elan Drug Technologies

Under the agreement, Elan will receive $500m in cash and 31.9 million ordinary shares of Alkermes plc common stock.

The combined company is expected to have growing product, royalty and manufacturing revenues in excess of $450m annually and resources to prudently invest in an innovative pipeline of proprietary drugs.

In particular, Alkermes plc will have access to products like RISPERDAL CONSTA, INVEGA SUSTENNA, AMPYRA, VIVITROL and BYDUREON in large therapeutic areas.

Alkermes plc will get EDT’s proprietary NanoCrystal technology for poorly water soluble drug compounds and for oral controlled release drugs and Alkermes’ long-acting injectable drug technologies.

The company will also get GMP manufacturing facilities in Wilmington, Ohio, Gainesville, Ga, and Athlone, Ireland, with capabilities for producing complex drug products.

Alkermes CEO Richard Pops said the merger will bring the scale and resources for strategic and balanced investment across the whole product continuum, from R&D innovation to clinical development, to world-class manufacturing and commercial expansion.

Elan CEO Kelly Martin said the transaction enables them to reduce the debt on their balance sheet and further improve their capital structure, increases operating leverage, allows for additional focus and continued disciplined investment in a broad array of opportunities within the neurology space from a scientific, clinical and product point of view.

EDT executive vice president and head Shane Cooke said with the company’s two recently approved drugs, INVEGA SUSTENNA and AMPYRA, driving revenue growth, the EDT business is an ideal complement to Alkermes’ portfolio of approved and development-stage drugs.