Indevus to acquire Valera for $120M plus possible milestones

The USA's Indevus Pharmaceuticals has signed a definitive agreement, to acquire Nasdaq-listed Valera Pharmaceuticals in a stock transaction, for $7.75 per share, or an aggregate value of approximately $120.0 million, plus contingent payments of up to $3.50 per share based on the achievement of future product milestones. New Jersey-based Valera is a speciality drugmaker focused on the development and commercialization of urology and endocrinology products. It markets the histrelin product, Vantas, for advanced prostate cancer and has multiple products in clinical development, including Supprelin-LA (histrelin) for central precocious puberty. The company has filed a New Drug Application for the compound and expects the US Food and Drug Administration to complete its review by May 2007. The firm also expects to submit a supplemental NDA in the first half of next year for Valstar (valrubicin), which is indicated for the treatment of BCG-refractory bladder cancer.