NeuroDerm sold for $1.1B in Israeli pharma industry's largest deal

Israeli pharmaceutical company NeuroDerm announced Monday that it has been sold for $1.1 billion in cash in what is believed to be the largest ever acquisition of an Israeli health care company and one of the largest purchases of an Israeli firm of any kind.

Japan's Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corp., which is buying Neuroderm, said the deal is part of its strategy to grow its business in the United States. Barring any regulatory snags, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The deal is one of the largest purchases of an Israeli firm by a Japanese buyer, surpassing internet retailer Rakuten Inc.'s $900 million acquisition of chat app Viber in 2014.

NeuroDerm, based in Rehovot, is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company develops next-generation treatments for central nervous system disorders.

Mitsubishi Tanabe said in a statement on Monday it would leverage NeuroDerm's Parkinson's disease drug, which has commenced clinical trials in the United States and Europe and is expected to launch in 2019.

The deal, reflecting a $39 per share price, was unanimously approved by NeuroDerm's board of directors.

"We believe that this transaction will have important benefits for NeuroDerm's shareholders and the Parkinson's disease patients who urgently need new therapies," NeuroDerm CEO Dr. Oded Lieberman said in a statement.

"MTPC has demonstrated development and commercialization expertise in the field of neurology, and we are confident that the combination of their resources and the robust data supporting ND0612, our Phase III Parkinson's disease product candidate, will help make this important new therapy available as broadly and rapidly as possible.

"The transaction also provides our shareholders with a significant return on their investment in NeuroDerm, reflecting the value that we have created with our pipeline and technologies."

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