Orexigen Shares Up 14% After Commercialization, Distribution Deal With Valeant Canada

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. OREX and Valeant Canada, a subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc VRX, struck an agreement on commercialization and distributorship for Contrave. Following the news, Orexigen traded up by more than 12 percent in the pre-market trading.

Orexigen said that the agreement terms made Valeant responsible for receiving regulatory approval from Canada for all commercialization activity and expenses. The company would supply Contrave tablets for an agreed transfer price based on some potential regulatory and sales milestone payments.

The American firm expects the Canadian firm to file for regulatory approval with Health Canada before January next year. Both the companies disclosed a commercialization deal for Mysimba earlier in March, and they expect to launch the product in 11 nations in the fourth quarter of the current year.

Related Link: Orexigen Reports Commercialization, Distributorship Deal with Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi in Spain

Orexigen CEO Mike Narachi said, "Valeant Canada has a growing portfolio of innovative medicines addressing cardiometabolic disease, as well as strong regulatory and commercial capabilities, and we believe they are an ideal partner for Contrave in Canada. Partnering with strong pharmaceutical companies outside the United States supports our global mission to improve the health and lives of patients struggling to lose weight and allows Orexigen to realize the global value of Contrave / Mysimba."

While Orexigen traded up by 14.85 percent to $4.40, Valeant traded down by 1.62 percent, to $29.75 at time of publication minutes after Tuesday's opening bell.

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