Valeant Pharmaceuticals to buy OraPharma for $312 million

Canadian specialty pharmaceutical company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc today said it will buy privately held OraPharma from private equity firm Water Street Healthcare Partners for about $312 million, in order to enter the dental market.

Ontario-based Valeant, which has recently embarked on an aggressive acquisition spree, will also pay up to $114 million in potential contingent payments based on certain milestones, including revenue targets.

Chicago-based Water Street Healthcare, which focuses exclusively on the health care industry and has investments in large pharmaceutical companies, including Gentiva, Medtronic and Smith & Nephew, had in January 2011 acquired OraPharma from Johnson & Johnson.

Horsham, Pennsylvania-based OraPharma specialises in developing and distributing pharmaceutical products in dental and oral health care segment.

Its lead product is Arestin, a locally administered antibiotic used by dentists to treat periodontitis that utilises an advanced controlled-release delivery system and is indicated for use in conjunction with scaling and root planning for the treatment of adult periodontitis.
 
OraPharma currently has the largest specialised pharmaceutical sales force in the dental industry, and as of 31 March, had revenue of approximately $95 million.

"We are excited to enter a new attractive market segment with an already established sales infrastructure focused entirely on the dental community," said Michael Pearson, chairman and chief executive officer of Valeant.