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Noven Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures transdermal patches at its South Florida facility, has been acquired by Hisamitsu Pharmaceuticals of Japan for $428 million (£262 million).
The Miami company says that it will continue as a standalone business using its existing 600-strong workforce, and that the deal “positions Noven as the US growth platform of a global company with significant resources.”
Hisamitsu, founded in 1847, will pay $16.50 a share – 22% above Monday’s closing price – for all of Noven’s outstanding equity. It already owns 1.2 million – 4.9% – of Noven’s shares.
Noven has pioneered the technique of delivering drugs through the skin, and the deal represents the latest of a long list of local pharmaceutical and medical-device companies that have been bought out.
They include Ivax, Kos Pharmaceuticals, Andrx, Cordis and Coulter. In April, Stiefel Laboratories said global pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline had agreed to purchase it for $2.9 billion.
Copyright Press Association 2009
