Mallinckrodt to buy Questcor Pharma

Ireland-based Mallinckrodt will buy US rival Questcor Pharmaceuticals in a roughly $5.6 billion cash-and-stock deal expected to expand the firm's drive in the specialty drugs field, the companies announced Monday. The acquisition was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies and should be completed in the third quarter. Questcor, headquartered in Anaheim, California, is a biopharmaceutical company specialised in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Its main revenue-maker is Acthar, an injectable drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for 19 indications, including multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and infantile spasms. Mallinckrodt will have a significant, established presence with prescribers, payers and hospitals," Mark Trudeau, the Irish firm's president and chief executive, said in the joint statement, according to a news agency.