Sept 29 (Reuters) – Danish drugmaker H Lundbeck A/S has expressed interest in acquiring Chicago-based Xeris Biopharma, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
Lundbeck has been working with advisers to explore a takeover of Xeris, the report said.
Xeris declined to comment on the report, while Lundbeck did not respond to a Reuters request.
Xeris develops therapies across a range of diseases, with a focus on endocrine and rare neuromuscular conditions. It has three commercially available drugs: Recorlev, Gvoke and Keveyis.
In August, Xeris reported second-quarter revenue of $91 million on strong demand for Recorlev, which is used to treat high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in adults with the hormonal disorder Cushing’s syndrome. The drugmaker had a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, as of last close.
Lundbeck focuses on developing therapies for psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, psychosis, migraine and epilepsy.
The reported “M&A interest in Xeris supports our bullish thesis”, Barclays analyst Jenna Davidner said, adding that “any deal would need to come at an attractive premium to XERS current price of ~$10”.
Lundbeck’s two largest products are antipsychotic pill Rexulti and infusion drug Vyepti, which helps prevent migraines.
Last month, Lundbeck posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales and said it does not see demand for its two main growth drugs slowing down.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Diti Pujara)
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