Valeant to spend about $1B on maker of women's libido drug

WASHINGTON (AP) — Valeant Pharmaceuticals will pay about $1 billion in cash to buy Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the maker of the first prescription drug intended to boost sexual desire in women.

The deal comes two days after U.S. regulators approved the pill Addyi, a milestone for the drug industry that could revive interest in medications for women's sexual problems.

Founded by a husband-and-wife team, Sprout has aggressively pushed the case for their product for years, arguing in dozens of interviews that the Food and Drug Administration had unfairly overlooked women's sexual disorders. But the company gave no hint of plans to sell the drug to a larger company.

"After all their talk about women's health disparities, it's time for Sprout's founders to just take the money and run," said Erik Gordon, a business professor at the University of Michigan.

Sprout CEO Cindy Whitehead responded today that she would continue to lead Sprout, which will become a division of Valeant.

"I'm not going anywhere and am very excited to continue working with our 34 employees," Whitehead said in a statement.

Gordon and some other analysts predicted the buyout, noting that Sprout had only a few dozen employees in its Raleigh offices. Gordon said Valeant has the size and expertise to market the new pill.