The Medicines Company to acquire Targanta for $42M

The Medicines Company, a USA-based developer of products for acute hospital care, is to acquire privately-held biopharmaceutical company  Targanta Therapeutics for $42.0 million.

TMC will offer Targanta shareholders $2in cash up front for each common  share tendered, as well as additional payments contingent upon the  achievement of specified regulatory and commercial milestones for  Targanta's lead product, oritavancin. The transaction has been approved  by the boards of both companies.

Oritavancin, is an innovative, investigational hospital-based antibiotic  with potent bactericidal activity against a broad spectrum of  gram-positive bacteria including staphylococcal strains with resistance  to methicillin and vancomycin. The drug has the potential to provide  significant clinical advantages, including superior dosing options over  current intravenous antibiotics that treat serious infections in the  hospital setting. While conventional daily dosing with oritavancin would  provide hospitals with a new treatment option, the potential for the  drug to be a single dose product could deliver significant cost  advantages and treatment benefits to the health care system, according  to the firms. Initial use of oritavancin is expected in critical care  settings within the hospital including the intensive care unit, surgical  suite and the emergency department, TMC's current area of focus.