Abbvie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) announced late Wednesday an agreement to acquire neuroscience drugmaker Cerevel Therapeutics for $45 per share in cash, or a total equity value of approximately $8.7 billion.
Cerevel’s portfolio includes drugs such as Emraclidine, an experimental treatment for both schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease psychosis, which is currently in a Phase I study in elderly healthy volunteers.
"Our existing neuroscience portfolio and our combined pipeline with Cerevel represents a significant growth opportunity well into the next decade," AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez said in a statement.
The acquisition agreement is AbbVie’s latest attempt to expand its drug pipeline as its top-selling treatments, such as Humira, face generic competition, CNBC reported.
Last week, AbbVie agreed to buy cancer drug developer Immunogen for nearly $10 billion.
AbbVie noted the proposed transaction is expected to be accretive to its adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) beginning in 2030.
This transaction is expected to close in the middle of 2024, according to the company.
Shares of Abbvie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)hed up $0.17 to $146.55 in early Thursday trading, while Cerevel Therapeutics stock climbed 13% to $41.64.
Contact Sean at sean@proactiveinvestors.com