(Reuters) – Johnson & Johnson said on Monday it would buy drugmaker Intra-Cellular Therapies for about $14.6 billion, boosting its presence in the market for neurological disorder treatments.
J&J will buy all of Intra-Cellular’s shares for $132 apiece, representing a 39% premium to their Friday closing price.
Shares of Intra-Cellular rose 35% to $128 in premarket trading.
The deal is the latest in a string of acquisitions by J&J as it looks to drive growth beyond 2025, when its blockbuster psoriasis drug Stelara could face competition from as many as six biosimilar versions in the U.S.
Last year, J&J acquired Numab’s skin disorder drug for $1.25 billion, and spent $850 million to buy drug developer Proteologix. It also acquired heart device maker Shockwave Medical in a $13.1 billion deal, and took over V-Wave for $1.7 billion to help bolster growth at its medical device business.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh and Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
