Cephalon Inc., maker of the cancer-pain drug Actiq, said Wednesday that it had reached an agreement with U.S. antitrust regulators that would allow the company to proceed with its $515 million purchase of Cima Labs Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission and Cephalon, which is based in West Chester, Pa., but has manufacturing facilities in Salt Lake City, have been in talks about the acquisition since shortly after the deal was announced in November, said Cephalon spokesman Robert Grupp. The agreement, reached with the agency's staff, is subject to the commission's approval.
The accord doesn't require Cephalon to sell any of its drugs, Grupp said. He declined to disclose other details. The government is concerned that owning Actiq and an experimental pain treatment that Cima is developing may stifle competition, analysts said.
"The FTC is worried about locking up the market for these orally active products for breakthrough pain," said Michael King, an analyst at Banc of America Securities in New York who rates the shares "neutral."
The agreement would allow Cephalon to complete its purchase of Cima within weeks, Grupp said. Cima's shareholders voted to approve the acquisition earlier this month.
Shares of Cima, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., climbed $1, or 3.1 percent, to close at $33.73 Wednesday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Cephalon shares gained 55 cents, or 1 percent, to $54. Cephalon's stock had risen 10 percent this year.