
Supernus expands its portfolio of Parkinson's drugs with a $400M+ buyout
Supernus is marking its expansion into the Parkinson’s disease arena, striking a deal to buy out Adamas Pharmaceuticals in a deal worth more than $400 million.
A year after swooping in on its first Parkinson’s acquisition, the two companies announced that they had reached an agreement for Supernus to pay up to $9.10 per share in cash as part of the acquisition — close to $450 million.
“This acquisition represents a significant step to further build a strong and diverse Parkinson’s disease portfolio, and aligns with our focus of acquiring value-enhancing, clinically-differentiated medicines to treat CNS diseases,” said Supernus CEO Jack Khattar in a statement.
This is not the biopharma’s first foray into CNS drugs and therapies. Just last year, the Maryland pharma paid $300 million to pick up US WorldMeds’ CNS portfolio of Apokyn, Myobloc and Xadago, along with an apomorphine infusion pump. Supernus made headlines earlier this year when the FDA approved the company’s ADHD non-stimulant treatment Qelbree.
This latest acquisition provides Supernus with two more products to market and sell: Gocovri — an FDA-approved treatment for off-time and dyskinesia in Parkinson’s patients receiving levodopa therapy, along with Parkinson’s treatment Osmolex.
The deal goes down like this: $8.10 per share that must be paid at closing, with two contingent value rights (CVRs) collectively worth $1.00 per share in cash. That brings the total value to $9.10 per share in cash.
The first CVR, worth $0.50 per share, is only payable upon reaching $150 million in annual (defined as four consecutive quarters) net sales of Adamas’ Gocovri between now and the end of 2024. The second $0.50 CVR gets paid out once Supernus sees $225 million in annual net sales of Gocovri by the end of 2025. For context, net sales of Govocri in all of 2020 and the first half of 2021 were $71.2 million and $37.7 million, respectively.
While CVRs can be profitable, they can also be risky for investors — as Celgene investors can attest to after losing their payouts at the beginning of the year, after one of their drugs failed to hit its schedule for an approval.
Adamas’ stock price soared after the announcement, with $ADMS crossing $8 in a 73% jump after the bell on Friday.
This new deal is expected to close by early next year, according to Supernus.