Swedish Meda has signed an agreement to acquire the US development company Acton Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The agreement also includes the proprietary product Aerospan, an inhaler for the treatment of asthma that contains the active substance Flunisolide and approved by the FDA. The launch of Aerospan is planned to the beginning of 2014. According to Meda, the total US market for inhaled asthma products containing a mono-corticosteroid is estimated at 2 billion USD. The use of spacers is increasing very rapidly. In some markets, more than one third of patients who use inhaled corticosteroids also use a spacer. Aerospan is the only product registered in the US market with a built-in spacer. Meda’ s target is to reach a minimum of 2 billion SEK in sales within 5 years.

The purchase price for Acton amounts to 135 million USD. In addition, there is a milestone payment of 10 million USD and royalty based milestones. The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions and the approval of the US competition authorities. Existing credit facilities will fund the acquisition.