Japanese drugmaker Shionogi is expanding in the USA by acquiring nine products, including the pain drug Naprelan, from Victory Pharma.

The Osaka-based group's US division has entered into an agreement to acquire seven treatments for pain and two for infectious diseases, all of which are  approved by the Food and Drug Administration and are already marketed. They will be promoted by Shionogi’s existing sales force.

They will include Victory’s lead product Naprelan, a once-daily controlled-release formulation of naproxen. Additionally, Shionogi will obtain marketing rights for other pain management products such as Xodol (acetaminophen/hydrocodone) and Fexmid (cyclobenzaprine), plus the anti-infectives Moxatag (amoxicillin) and Keflex (cefalexin).

Cashwise, Shionogi will pay $118 million at closing with up to $9 million in additional milestone payments. The transaction may close as early as next week.

John Keller, chief executive of Shionogi in the USA,  said the acquisition will further establish the firm in the country, "particularly in these key therapeutic areas, while generating growth in the short term and building a platform for future products in the longer term".

Interestingly, some two years ago, Shionogi had agreed to pay $150 million to acquire Victory, a privately-held firm, but they terminate the proposed merger. Somewhat mysteriously, at the time, the companies said the deal was pulled “due to the occurrence of an unforeseen development that occurred after the agreement was signed”.