Lundbeck to Buy Longboard Pharma in $2.6 Billion Deal

(Bloomberg) -- H. Lundbeck A/S agreed to acquire Longboard Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a $2.6 billion deal that boosts its drug pipeline for serious brain diseases.

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The Danish pharmaceutical company is offering shareholders in the US company Longboard $60 per share in cash, in a transaction that has been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, according to a statement.

Shares of Lundbeck fell as much as 5.9% following the news. Longboard Pharmaceuticals rose as much as 52% in premarket trading on Monday.

Lundbeck specializes in treatments for serious brain diseases and its proposed acquisition of Longboard will boost its development pipeline in neuro-rare conditions. Longboard’s main drug in development is bexicaserin, a potential blockbuster treatment for patients suffering from rare and severe epilepsies, for which there are currently very few good treatments available.

Bexicaserin is currently being tested on patients diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and other similar conditions. Lundbeck said the drug has shown encouraging anti-seizure effects in early trials. A global late-stage study evaluating the drug for the treatment of seizures associated with Dravet syndrome began in September.

Acquiring Longboard is an important deal as it will help build a late-stage pipeline for Lundbeck, said Charl van Zyl, the company’s chief executive officer, on a call with Bloomberg, adding: “And, of course, it has blockbuster potential for us.”

The deal will be funded through existing cash resources and bank financing and is expected to close in the final quarter of this year.

(Updates with additional details and CEO comments throughouut.)

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