Shire and NPS Pharmaceuticals, a rare disease-focused biopharmaceutical company, closed a merger agreement for a total of approximately $5.2 billion. Teduglutide for injection is NPS’s first product approved in the US and Europe to treat adults with short bowel syndrome (SBS) who are dependent on parenteral support. The second product, rhPTH-83, is under registration phase for the treatment of hypoparathyroidism (HPT). An ongoing phase IIa study is evaluating NPS’s lead pipeline candidate NPSP795 for the treatment of adults with autosomal dominant hypocalcemia.
The deal strengthens Shire’s focus on rare diseases.