It’s already turning out to be a busy year for speciality pharma group Shire (SHP). It agreed to buy NPS Pharmaceuticals in January and just received regulatory approval for the use of Vyvanse in patients with binge eating disorder (BED). That should leave last year's failed takeover by AbbVie (US:ABBV) a thing of the past when the group unveils its 2014 numbers next week.
The group has put its $1.6bn (£1.06bn) termination fee from AbbVie to good use. It agreed to buy NPS Pharma for $46 a share, representing a 51 per cent premium to the share price of $30.47 on 16 December 2014. The New Jersey-based target is a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for rare diseases. It has a short bowel syndrome product - GATTEX - which is already approved in the US and Europe.
