Three Rivers finalizes acquisition of Infergen from Valeant

Three Rivers Pharmaceuticals has finalized its acquisition of the hepatitis C drug Infergen (interferon-alpha) from fellow USA-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which is set to receive $91.0 million from the former for the procurement. Donald Kerrish, Three Rivers' chief executive, said: "this purchase is only a beginning for Three Rivers' continuous strategy to increase its product offerings through product acquisition and internal product development of pharmaceutical therapies." Infergen, or consensus interferon, is a bio-optimized, selective and highly-potent type 1 interferon-alpha, originally developed by Amgen and launched in the USA in 1997. It is currently indicated as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C viral infections with compensated liver disease and is dosed three times per week.