Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Cephalon Inc. / CIMA Labs Inc.

2003 · Acquisition/Merger · $515M · Complete

CALLED IT — OFF BY 19

CIMA's fentanyl tech became Fentora, a real approved product — but it fed directly into Cephalon's $425M off-label-marketing scandal and eroded fast once safety restrictions and generics hit, never becoming the pain-franchise cornerstone the deal thesis promised.

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The coverage arc

Nov 03, 2003 Cephalon/CIMA joint press release (CIMA Labs 8-K Exhibit 99.1, SEC EDGAR) Bullish

Baldino: 'Combining CIMA's innovative delivery technologies together with our clinical development, regulatory, and sales and marketing experience, will create…

Aug 09, 2004 FTC Neutral

FTC allows Cephalon's $515M acquisition of CIMA Labs subject to a consent order requiring Cephalon to license a generic version of Actiq to Barr Laboratories,…

Sep 24, 2004 FTC Legal Library Neutral

Final FTC decision and order in Cephalon/CIMA case formalizes Barr generic Actiq licensing remedy as a structural concession to permit deal close.

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Cephalon Inc. acquired CIMA Labs Inc. for approximately $515 million ($34.00 per share), gaining CIMA's OraVescent fentanyl drug-delivery platform to extend Cephalon's Actiq breakthrough-cancer-pain franchise. To resolve FTC competitive concerns, Cephalon agreed to license a generic version of Actiq to Barr Laboratories. The transaction closed in August 2004.

Did it work? Outcome assessment

CIMA's fentanyl tech became Fentora, a real approved product — but it fed directly into Cephalon's $425M off-label-marketing scandal and eroded fast once safety restrictions and generics hit, never becoming the pain-franchise cornerstone the deal thesis promised.

Strategic verdict
Partially Achieved

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Cephalon Inc. / CIMA Labs Inc. (this deal)2003$515M48
Cephalon Inc. / Laboratoire L. Lafon S.A. (Group Lafon)2000$450M89
Cephalon Inc. / Salmedix, Inc.2005$160M89
Cephalon Inc. / Group Lafon (France)2001$450M80
Cephalon Inc. / Cell Therapeutics, Inc.2005$70M74
Cephalon Inc. / Anesta Corp.2001$444M65
Cephalon Inc. / Anesta Corp.2000$444M64

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