Lundbeck expresses interest in buying Xeris, Bloomberg News reports

Sept 29 — Danish drugmaker H Lundbeck A/S has expressed interest in ​acquiring Chicago-based Xeris Biopharma, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Lundbeck has ‌been working with advisers to explore a takeover of Xeris, the report ⁠said.

Xeris declined to comment ​on the report, while ⁠Lundbeck did not respond to a Reuters request.

Xeris develops ‌therapies across a ‌range of diseases, with a focus on endocrine ⁠and rare neuromuscular conditions. It ⁠has three commercially available drugs: Recorlev, Gvoke and Keveyis.

In August, Xeris reported second-quarter revenue of $91 million on strong demand for Recorlev, which is used to treat high levels of the stress hormone cortisol in ‌adults with the hormonal disorder ​Cushing's syndrome. The drugmaker had a market capitalization of $1.79 billion, as of last close.

Lundbeck focuses on developing therapies for psychiatric and neurological disorders, including depression, psychosis, migraine and epilepsy.

The reported "M&A interest in Xeris supports our bullish thesis", Barclays analyst Jenna Davidner said, adding ​that "any deal would need to come at an attractive ‌premium to XERS ‌current ⁠price of ~$10".

Lundbeck's two largest products are antipsychotic pill Rexulti and infusion drug Vyepti, which helps prevent migraines.

Last month, Lundbeck posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales and said it does not ‌see demand for ​its two main growth drugs ‌slowing down.

(Reporting by ⁠Christy Santhosh ​and Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and ​Diti Pujara)

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