Amryt acquires company with plans to grow portfolio

Amryt, an Irish pharmaceutical company focused on rare diseases, has agreed to acquire Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Canada-headquartered Novelion Therapeutics, in an effort to expand its portfolio.

The all-paper transaction implies an equity valuation of $120 million for Amryt and $190.7 million for Aegerion. Nevertheless, the company plans to raise $60 million concurrent with the closing of the transaction which will be backed by “certain” Aegerion bondholders.

The enlarged company will then be re-admitted to the Euronext in Dublin as well as AIM with a planned dual-listing on the Nasdaq. The company’s global headquarters will remain in Dublin.

"The acquisition of Aegerion accelerates our ambition to become a global leader in treating rare conditions to help improve the lives of patients where there is a high unmet medical need," said Dr Joe Wiley, chief executive of Amryt.

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“By delivering two substantial revenue-generating products and an enhanced pipeline of promising development opportunities, this will significantly strengthen our growth in highly attractive markets globally.”

In addition to controlling Lojuxta for the treatment of a rare cholesterol disease, it will also have Metreleptin in its portfolio. This has been approved in the US to treat a disorder characterised by the near total loss of body fat.

Ben Harshbarger, interim chief executive of Novelion, Aegerion's parent company, said the combined group will create a financially stronger and well-capitalised rare disease company.

“Amryt’s executive management team has the depth of experience to commercialize Aegerion’s marketed products, as demonstrated by its ability to grow sales of Lojuxta in the European market,” he added.