Otsuka to acquire Neurovance

Otsuka Pharmaceutical will pay $100 million up front and up to $150 million in potential milestone payments to acquire Cambridge, Mass.-based Neurovance, a six-year-old company focused on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Its lead ADHD candidate is centanafadine, which has completed Phase II clinical trials. According to Neurovance, centanafadine is one of a new generation of triple reuptake inhibitors that modulate the activity of norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin. The acquisition will extend Otsuka’s efforts in the area of central nervous system therapy.