Shire has lined up a $5 billion credit facility from banks led by Citigroup to finance a takeover offer for NPS Pharmaceuticals, an American developer of a new drug for sufferers of a debilitating bowel condition.
An initial approach to NPS by Shire has been rebuffed, according to insiders. However, a former London hospital doctor with ties to both companies is acting as a go-between.
NPS won regulatory approval for a drug to treat short bowel syndrome — a condition in which the intestine is too short to absorb nutrients, usually after surgery for digestive illnesses. The medicine, called Gattex, costs nearly $300,000 a year per patient.
A buyout of NPS would be the latest multibillion-dollar deal in the healthcare sector. In common with AstraZeneca