Pfizer buying ADHD drug maker

NEW YORK — Pfizer is buying the maker of an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug for almost $700 million, Pfizer said Monday.

The drug maker announced that it would buy privately owned NextWave Pharmaceuticals, which makes the extended-release ADHD drug Quillivant XR (methylphenidate hydrochloride), which the Food and Drug Administration approved last month. The drug is expected to appear in pharmacies in January 2013.

Pfizer made an option payment of $20 million in second quarter 2012 as part of an option and merger agreement with NextWave and will pay $255 million to NextWave's shareholders when the deal closes, with shareholders receiving additional drug-sales milestone payments of up to $425 million.

"This agreement demonstrates our focused expansion of the established products U.S. brands business to offer a diverse portfolio of high-quality medicines that meet patients' needs," Pfizer Established Products Business Unit president and general manager Albert Bourla said. "By combining the advantages of Quillivant XR with Pfizer's commercial expertise, we will be able to provide ADHD patients and their caregivers a new treatment option."

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