Sciele Pharma terminates agreement to acquire Victory Pharma

ATLANTA—Sciele Pharma Inc., a subsidiary of Shionogi &Co. of Osaka, Japan, has terminated its agreement to acquire VictoryPharmaceuticals, a privately held San Diego company specializing in paintreatments.

Sciele announced the $150 million acquisition offer in May(see "Sciele claims Victory in pain battle with $150 million acquisition," DDNJune 2009). Sciele said the deal would have allowed it to further diversify itsproduct portfolio, generate additional growth and provide an immediateexpansion into the pain market for Sciele.

In a statement released July 10, Shionogi said itscancellation was due to "the occurrence of an unforeseen development thatoccurred after the agreement was signed," but did not elaborate.

Victory's lead product is Naprelan (naproxen sodium), anon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). The company also markets controlled-releasetablets and other pain products to pain management specialists, rheumatologists,orthopedic surgeons and selected primary care physicians through its physicianoffice-based field sales force. It is not known whether the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration's (FDA) June 30 advisory committee recommendation to remove combinationprescription and over-the-counter products containing acetaminophen hadanything to do with the recent announcement.