The Medicines Company readies deal to acquire Targanta

PARSIPPANY, N.J. The Medicines Company will acquire Targanta Therapeutics Corp. under a merger deal announced Monday.

The Medicines Company said it would commence a tender offer to acquire 100 percent of Targanta’s outstanding shares. Targanta shareholders will receive $2 in cash up front for each common share tendered, totaling $42 million.

Shareholders may receive additional payments depending on the achievement of regulatory and commercial milestones for Targanta drugs.

“The Medicines Company is pleased to announce our agreement to add the assets and capabilities of Targanta,” Medicines Company chairman and CEO Clive Meanwell said in a statement. “The addition of Targanta’s oritavancin, a late-stage product, will be another step toward execution of our strategic plan to become a global leader in critical-care medicine.”

In December, the Food and Drug Administration denied approval of Targanta’s application for oritavancin, a treatment for complicated skin and skin structure infections and the company’s lead product candidate, requesting an additional phase 3 clinical trial that would include more patients with cSSSI resulting from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureas. Later that month, Targanta laid off 75 percent of its workforce.