Shire to Acquire ViroPharma

Shire plc and ViroPharma Inc. have entered into a merger agreement under which Shire will acquire all outstanding shares ViroPharma for approximately $4.2 billion. ViroPharma is a rare disease biopharmaceutical company, whose commercial product CINRYZE (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]), is a leading brand for the prophylactic treatment of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE).
 
Shire chief executive officer, Flemming Ornskov MD, said, “The acquisition of ViroPharma will immediately benefit Shire and is entirely consistent with our clear strategic objective of strengthening our rare disease portfolio. It brings us a new growth-driving product, which augments our already strong growth prospects. Shire is uniquely positioned to drive the continued successof CINRYZE for the benefit of patients through our knowledge of the rare disease space, our international infrastructure and our biologics manufacturing expertise.”
 
Vincent J. Milano, ViroPharma’s chief executive officer, said, “We are pleased to announce our merger with Shire, which like ViroPharma, is focused on developing products for patients suffering from rare diseases. After thoroughly evaluating our strategic options we determined that this transaction is in the best interests of ViroPharma, our shareholders and our patients. By joining with Shire, ViroPharma will become part of a larger, more diverse biopharmaceutical company and will benefit from Shire’s innovation, scale and global reach. We look forward to working with Shire’s team and to being part of an even stronger, more geographically diverse organization.”