Vidara Therapeutics International Ltd., a Roswell-based specialty pharmacy company, will be acquired by Horizon Pharma Inc. in a deal valued at about $660 million, the companies announced Wednesday.
Vidara produces the drug Actimmune, a bioengineered protein used in the treatment of chronic granulomatous disease, which is an immune disorder, and malignant osteopetrosis, a rare congenital disorder in which the bones become overly dense.
The drug, which had sales of $58.9 million last year, reduces the frequency and severity of serious infections associated with CGD and slows the progression of osteopetrosis.
Horizon Pharma produces two drugs, Duexis and Vimovo, for the treatment of pain associated with arthritis, and a third drug, Rayos, a corticosteroid used in the treatment of a variety of diseases, including acute leukemia and aggressive lymphomas, asthma and psoriatic arthritis.
The combined company will be called Horizon Pharma PLC. Executives of Vidara, which has 24 employees on Holcomb Woods Parkway, will have management roles, said Horizon Pharma, which has about 400 employees. Privately held Vidara also has operations in Dublin, Ireland.
Horizon Pharma said Vidara Chairman and company founder Bala Venkataraman will remain “a significant shareholder” after the deal closes, which is expected in midyear.
Venkataraman founded Vidara in 2011. The chemist also co-founded Alaven Pharmaceutical and served as chief operating officer at First Horizon Pharmaceutical, now Shionogi Pharma.
Horizon Pharma said Vidara will continue its manufacturing relationship with Boehringer Ingelheim in producing Actimmune.
