Collegium, BioDelivery To Combine Pain Portfolios In Proposed Merger

In a proposed merger of two pain-focused specialty pharmas, Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc. will acquire BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. for approximately $604m, the companies announced on 14 February. On a same-day investor call, Collegium CEO Joseph Ciaffoni said BioDelivery was his firm’s top acquisition target because of complementary product portfolios and the expectation of rapid accretion, as well as an estimated $75m in synergies.

The deal would primarily combine Collegium’s Xtampza ER, an extended-release formulation of oxycodone indicated for chronic lower back pain (CLBP), with BioDelivery’s Belbuca, a buccal formulation of buprenorphine also indicated for CLBP. (Also see "Endo's Belbuca Is First Buccal Film In Extended-Release Opioid Class" - Pink Sheet, 27 October, 2015.) BioDelivery got a favorable court ruling this past December upholding a pair of Belbuca patent claims and preventing Alvogen, Inc. from bringing a generic version of its product to market any sooner than 2027