Lundbeck buys Alder, eyeing migraine drug

Denmark’s Lundbeck has agreed to buy Alder BioPharmaceuticals in a deal valued at almost $2 billion, hoping to profit from a potential blockbuster migraine drug.

Alder, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company in Washington state, is developing eptinezumab, an investigational monoclonal antibody (mAb) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. Alder submitted a Biologics License Application (BLA) to the FDA for eptinezumab in February 2019 and the FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of 21 February 2020.

Lundbeck hopes the transaction will significantly strengthen business as early as 2020, accelerating the build of its late-stage pipeline and providing access to new capabilities in the monoclonal antibody field. The addition of eptinezumab will expand Lundbeck’s leading global brain disease franchise.

Read the press release