Horizon Pharma will spend about $800 million to buy Raptor Pharmaceutical and expand its portfolio of rare disease treatments, a growing area of focus for drugmakers.
Horizon Pharma, whose U.S. headquarters is in Deerfield, said Monday that the deal will strengthen its business in the United States and provide a platform to expand in Europe and other international markets.
Raptor’s portfolio includes Procysbi, which treats a rare metabolic disorder, and Quinsair, approved for managing a chronic pulmonary infection in adult patients with cystic fibrosis.
Ireland-based drug developer Horizon Pharma Plc. will pay $9 in cash for each share of Novato, California-based Raptor Pharmaceutical Corp. and expects to close the deal in the fourth quarter.
Drugmakers in recent years have been shifting more money to developing rare disease treatments, as mass-market drugs lose patent protections.
New York-traded shares of Horizon Pharma rose $1.33, or 7.7 percent, to $18.59 in afternoon trading. Shares of Raptor Pharmaceutical jumped $1.51, or 20.2 percent, to $8.96.
