Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Lundbeck agreed to acquire Alder BioPharmaceuticals for $18.00 per share upfront in cash plus a $2.00 per share CVR tied to FDA approval, totaling up to $1.95B. Lead asset eptinezumab (later approved as Vyepti) is the first IV-administered anti-CGRP monoclonal antibody for migraine prevention. Closed October 2019. Post-close, the thesis has been strongly validated commercially: Vyepti became one of Lundbeck's fastest-growing strategic brands, reaching DKK 2,909M in FY2024 (+72% CER) and DKK 3,254M in the first nine months of 2025 (+57% CER), and was the fastest-growing anti-CGRP in the U.S. at 11.2% market share by September 2025. A label-expansion attempt in episodic cluster headache failed, however: Lundbeck's Phase 2/3 trial (NCT04688775) missed its primary endpoint (-4.0 vs -4.6 weekly attacks for placebo, p=0.5048), so Vyepti remains a migraine-prevention-only asset.
Assessment window: 5yr post-close.