LONDON, UK: Neurocrine Biosciences will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Diurnal Group Plc. Under the terms of the acquisition, Diurnal shareholders shall be entitled to receive 27.5 pence in cash for each Diurnal share.
The acquisition values the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Diurnal at approximately £48.3 million.
Neurocrine Biosciences is a neuroscience-focused, biopharmaceutical company with a simple purpose: to relieve suffering for people with great needs, but few options. Neurocrine is dedicated to discovering and developing life-changing treatments for patients with under-addressed neurological, neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Neurocrine’s portfolio includes FDA-approved treatments for tardive dyskinesia (TD), Parkinson’s disease, endometriosis and uterine fibroids, and a diversified portfolio of investigational therapies with the potential to address unmet clinical needs of patients worldwide living with neurological, endocrine and psychiatric disorders. Neurocrine has a workforce of approximately 1,200 employees, and is headquartered in San Diego, California.
For the year ended 31 December 2021, Neurocrine reported net product sales of $1.09 billion (c. £0.9 billion) and net income of $89.6 million (c.£75.3 million). As at the Latest Practicable Date, Neurocrine had a market capitalisation of $10.0 billion (c.£8.4 billion).
Diurnal is a European specialty pharmaceutical group targeting patient needs in chronic endocrine (hormonal) diseases.
Diurnal aims to develop and commercialise products to solve patient needs in endocrine diseases, primarily those that result from a deficiency of cortisol and testosterone, typically where there is either no licensed medicine or where current treatment does not sufficiently address patients’ needs. Diurnal’s portfolio includes approved treatments for paediatric adrenal insufficiency (AI) and congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Diurnal has a workforce of 33 employees, and is headquartered in Cardiff, UK.
For the six months ended 31 December 2021, Diurnal reported unaudited net product sales (including royalties) of £2.13 million and a net loss of £7.95 million. As at the Latest Practicable Date, Diurnal had a market capitalisation of £19.1 million. Unaudited net product sales (including royalties) for the twelve months to 30 June 2022 were £4.62 million.
Commenting on the acquisition, Anders Härfstrand, Non-Executive Chairman of Diurnal, said: “The Board of Diurnal is delighted to announce this recommended offer for Diurnal. Diurnal and Neurocrine are highly complementary businesses, and we believe that Neurocrine’s financial and operational resources will substantially accelerate the development of a leading franchise in diseases of cortisol deficiency, benefiting physicians and patients globally.
We believe that the Acquisition is compelling for Diurnal’s shareholders given the risks associated with achieving Diurnal’s vision of creating a profitable business, in particular the ongoing commercial roll out of Diurnal’s products in Europe and the execution of key clinical studies, in addition to the substantial shareholder dilution that is likely to result from accessing the capital required to deliver this vision.”
Commenting on the Acquisition, Kyle Gano, Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer of Neurocrine, said: “We have followed Diurnal for several years and have a high regard for its people. We see a good strategic fit that offers benefits for both companies’ stakeholders and the physician and patient communities we both serve.”
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