Sunovion Acquires Cynapsus Therapeutics

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has acquired Cynapsus Therapeutics for $624 million, a deal that reflects Sunovion’s global strategy to expand and diversify its portfolio in key therapeutic areas, including neurology.

Sunovion gets Cynapsus’ product candidate, APL-130277, which is designed to be a fast-acting, easy-to-use, on-demand treatment option for managing OFF episodes associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD).

“Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects more than four million people around the world, and there is a significant need for new options to treat the OFF episodes associated with it,” said Nobuhiko Tamura, chairman and chief executive officer, Sunovion. “We believe that APL-130277 is a novel late-stage candidate with the potential to make a real difference for patients and their families. The acquisition of Cynapsus is well-aligned with Sunovion’s focus on the innovative application of science and medicine to help people with serious medical conditions and complements our robust product pipeline.”

“With its leadership in therapies for central nervous system disorders and commercial experience specific to neurology, we believe Sunovion is best suited to advance APL-130277 in the U.S. and other key markets,” said Anthony Giovinazzo, president and chief executive officer, Cynapsus. “This transaction culminates years of dedicated work by the Cynapsus team and represents significant value creation for our security holders.”