‘Female Viagra’ Pill Sold to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $1 Billion

August 20, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 20 (Tomas Monzon) — Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. closed a deal of $1 billion Thursday as it bought out Sprout Pharmaceuticals, developer of the “female Viagra” pill.

Sprout’s recently approved Addyi is claimed to be the equivalent of the little blue pill for women.

Under the terms of their deal, Valeant would pay cash for Sprout’s product through a $500 million installment upfront and a second next year.

Valeant would also usurp the company’s 34 employees as they get ready to begin sales of the pill in October.

Valeant’s buy out would mark the latest in a string of purchases of other companies that have grown Valean’ts repository to include eye, skin and stomach products. Companies like Medicis, Salix and Bausch & Lomb have been bought by Valeant, which has projected revenue for 2015 ranging from $10.7 billion to $11.1 billion.

Addyi’s status as the only medication of its kind would diminish commercial competition for it and potentially strengthen Valeant’s profits. The company expects Addyi to hit American pharmacy shelves in the fourth quarter.

Additionally, Valeant has more resources than Sprout to distribute Addyi to markets in and outside of the United States. The company is confident in its ability to market the pill globally.

Also called flibanserin, the drug was initially rejected by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to serious side effects including low blood pressure, fainting, nausea, dizziness and sleepiness. However, following months of review, the FDA approved Addyi on Tuesday and made it the first-ever medication on the market to treat a lack of sexual desire in premenopausal women.

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