Report: NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. Headed For Block

NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc. NPSP may be headed for the auction block but the company declines to confirm the possibility. NPS' financial adviser Goldman Sachs is contacting potential buyers, according to The Wall Street Journal. An NPS representative declined to comment to Benzinga.com concerning the report. Shares of the Bedminster, N.J.-based company changed hands recently at $38.31, up $2.56. During the past three months, NPS is up more than 60 percent. The Journal said Dublin-based Shire PLC SHPG has expressed interest in NPS in the past. Shire recently received a $1.6 billion termination fee resulting from AbbVie's NYSE: ABBV) failed acquisition attempt, the Journal noted, adding that "it isn't clear what other drug companies might be interested in NPS." FDA approved NPS' Gattex treatment for a rare bowel disease in December 2012 and it was launched the following February. The company posted $67.9 million in Gattex sales for the nine months ended Sept. 30, up from $16.5 million a year earlier. NPS said in October it expected U.S. regulators would make a decision by Jan. 24 on the company's Natpara drug for a rare hormone disorder. At least one analyst expects Natpara to post about $275 million in annual sales by 2018, according to the Jounal. NPS also received about $89.5 million in total royalties during the nine months ended Sept. 30 from Amgen's sales of Sensipar and Mimpara and from Kyowa Hakko Kirin for sales of Regpara as well as from Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc. for sales of Nucynta.