Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
A $199.5M upfront bolt-on that steadily wrote itself down to nothing over eight years. King impaired Intal, Tilade, and Synercid in successive charges through 2008, discontinued Intal outright in 2010 rather than fund a CFC-free reformulation, and never hit the MRSA milestone—King itself was sold to Pfizer in 2011.
All three acquired brands were written down and Intal was discontinued outright — a small bolt-on that steadily bled value for eight years
Full analysis, sources & comparables →On December 30, 2002, King Pharmaceuticals licensed or acquired the rights to three branded pharmaceutical products from Aventis for the initial cash payment…
In 2001, about 20.3 million people (7.4% of the U.S. population) had asthma among all ages; between 2002 and 2018, current asthma prevalence ranged from a low…
Combination of two antibiotics used to treat infections caused by staphylococci and by vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium; the two components work…
Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.
All 7 sources with sentiment breakdown →
December 30, 2002 acquisition of US rights to Intal (cromolyn), Tilade (nedocromil) and Synercid (quinupristin/dalfopristin) plus associated IP.
All three acquired brands were written down and Intal was discontinued outright — a small bolt-on that steadily bled value for eight years
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
$197M King upfront cash to Aventis (USD mm) for Intal/Tilade/Synercid rights
This is a multi-product portfolio acquisition spanning two indications. Intal (cromolyn sodium) and Tilade (nedocromil sodium) are inhaled mast-cell stabilizers used as anti-inflammatory maintenance therapy for asthma — a category already in commercial decline by 2002 due to inhaled corticosteroids and leukotriene antagonists (Singulair, Accolate). Synercid (quinupristin/dalfopristin) is an injectable streptogramin antibiotic for serious vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF) infections — a niche hospital antibiotic.
By 2002 the asthma market had been redefined by inhaled corticosteroids (Flovent, Pulmicort, AstraZeneca's Symbicort), ICS/LABA combos (Advair, launched 2001), and leukotriene receptor antagonists (Merck's Singulair, ZD3525/Accolate). Cromolyn (Intal) and nedocromil (Tilade) were legacy assets with patents already expired and generic competition active — King's bet was sales-force leverage on declining branded scripts, not innovation. On the antibiotic side, Synercid competed against vancomycin (cheap and standard) and faced 2000-launch linezolid (Pfizer's Zyvox), which had oral and IV formulations and rapidly took share for VRE infections. Per pharmabiz coverage, on December 30, 2002 King paid '$197.5 million, plus $3.8 million of expenses' for these rights, with milestones up to $64.8M tied to Synercid VREF performance. Forward look: Synercid did $28M in 2002 sales but the FDA removed the VREF bacteremia indication from the label in August 2010 due to insufficient post-marketing efficacy data; Pfizer (which acquired King for $3.6B in October 2010) discontinued Synercid in 2022 with no other manufacturers per Wikipedia. Intal capsule was determined 'not withdrawn for safety/efficacy' in October 2013 but lost commercial momentum to ICS-based therapy. The deal is a textbook late-lifecycle asset roll-up that delivered modest cash flow but no franchise value — King itself was absorbed into Pfizer's pain portfolio in 2010 (Embeda, Avinza, EpiPen the strategic prizes, not asthma legacy products).
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| King Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Aventis Pharmaceuticals (Intal/Tilade/Synercid rights) (this deal) | 2002 | $275M | 26 |
| King Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Jones Pharma Incorporated | 2000 | $3.4B | 54 |
| King Pharmaceuticals Inc. / Bristol-Myers Squibb (Corgard/Corzide/Delestrogen/Florinef rights) | 2001 | $285M | 51 |
| Roche Holding AG / Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. | 2002 | $1.4B | 100 |
| Gilead Sciences Inc. / Triangle Pharmaceuticals Inc. | 2002 | $464M | 96 |
| Amgen Inc. / Immunex Corporation | 2002 | $16.0B | 92 |
| Novartis AG / Lek Pharmaceuticals d.d. | 2002 | $876M | 88 |