Supernus will acquire APOKYN, MYOBLOC, and XADAGO, along with Apomorphine Infusion Pump, which is currently under late-stage development

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Supernus signed agreement with US WorldMeds to acquire its CNS Portfolio. (Credit: Adam Radosavljevic from Pixabay.)

US-based speciality pharmaceutical firm Supernus Pharmaceuticals has signed an agreement to acquire the CNS portfolio of US WorldMeds, a privately-held biopharmaceutical company, for $530m.

The acquisition price includes an upfront cash payment of $300m along with regulatory and commercial milestone cash payments up to $230m.

Through the transaction, Supernus will acquire APOKYN (apomorphine hydrochloride), MYOBLOC (rimabotulinumtoxinB), and XADAGO (safinamide), along with Apomorphine Infusion Pump, which is currently under late-stage development.

Supernus president and CEO Jack Khattar said: “This acquisition aligns extremely well with our strategy of expanding and enhancing our commercial and late-stage assets and is a significant step in strengthening our leadership position in CNS.

“We expect this transaction to provide Supernus with enhanced operating cash flow, financial flexibility to execute on our strategy, and a continued strong balance sheet. In addition, the transaction provides increased revenue scale and adds new commercial capabilities that are important for orphan drugs and speciality pharmacy products.”

Supernus will acquire APOKYN, MYOBLOC, XADAGO, and Apomorphine Infusion Pump

APOKYN injection is intended to provide rapid, reliable, and robust control of body movements in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) when they experience an off episode.

MYOBLOC injection is an approved botulinum toxin Type B, indicated for the treatment of cervical dystonia and reduce the severity of abnormal head position and neck pain associated with cervical dystonia in adults, and the treatment of chronic sialorrhea in adults.

XADAGO is a monoamine oxidase type B (MAO-B) inhibitor indicated as a daily adjunctive treatment to levodopa/carbidopa in patients with PD experiencing off episodes.

Apomorphine Infusion Pump is a product candidate designed for the continuous treatment of motor fluctuations in PD patients with unsatisfactory motor control through oral levodopa and at least one other noninvasive PD therapy.

The company is expected to file a new drug application (NDA) with the FDA in the second half of 2020 and would launch the product in the second half of 2021 if approved by the FDA.

Khattar added: “In addition to expanding and strengthening our commercial capabilities in CNS, this acquisition brings new research and development platforms to Supernus in biologics and medical devices. We look forward to building on the success that US WorldMeds had in establishing this portfolio of unique products.”

US WorldMeds Sr. chief executive officer Paul Breckinridge “Breck” Jones said: “The core values of Supernus align very well with US WorldMeds.

“We expect a seamless transition with even more patients benefiting from these products under Supernus’ stewardship. This transaction will allow US WorldMeds to focus on growing our other exciting business units.”