LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Johnson & Johnson confirmed on Monday that it has agreed to buy biopharmaceutical firm Intra-Cellular Therapies for around $14.6bn.
Inter-Cellular is focused on the development and commercialisation of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.

Under the terms of the deal, J&J will pay $132.00 per share in cash.

Johnson & Johnson chairman and chief executive Joaquin Duato said: "Building on our nearly 70-year legacy in neuroscience, this unique opportunity to add Intra-Cellular Therapies to our Innovative Medicine business demonstrates our commitment to transforming care and advancing research in some of today's most devastating neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.

"This acquisition further differentiates our portfolio, serves as a strategic near- and long-term growth catalyst for Johnson & Johnson and offers compelling value to patients, health systems and shareholders."

J&J said that with this deal, it adds Intra-Cellular Therapies' CAPLYTA® (lumateperone), a once-daily oral therapy approved to treat adults with schizophrenia, as well as depressive episodes associated with bipolar I or II disorder (bipolar depression), as a monotherapy and adjunctive therapy with lithium or valproate.

The acquisition also includes ITI-1284, a Phase 2 compound being studied in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and Alzheimer's disease-related psychosis and agitation, as well as a clinical-stage pipeline "that further complements and strengthens Johnson & Johnson's current areas of focus".

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