Neurocrine Biosciences, forever a potential M&A target in the biopharmaceutical industry, has made major acquisitions of its own.
Neurosyn has reached a deal to acquire Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 billion, acquiring Vicat XR (diazoxide choline), the first recently FDA-approved treatment for bulimia in patients with the rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS).
Bulimia is an insatiable feeling of hunger that can lead to co-morbidities such as obesity and other cardiometabolic diseases and death.
The announcement of the deal with Soleno comes several months after Neurocrine announced its preclinical CRF2 agonist obesity pipeline.
The acquisition of Soleno is Neuroclin’s largest M&A since its founding in 1992.
On Monday’s investor conference call, Neurocrine CEO Dr. Kyle Gano said Vicat XR has the potential for blockbuster peak sales, adding that the first-in-class drug could quickly become another source of revenue. Samir Siddhanti, head of business development at Neurocrine, emphasized that Soleno’s focus on the intersection of neurology and endocrinology “couldn’t be a better strategic fit” for Neurocrine.
Evercore ISI analysts agreed that “the timing, asset profile, and role it could play in the (neurosecretion) story are all a good fit,” according to an April 6 memo. For Neurocrine, Soleno will help “bridge the gap” between a quiet commercial execution period and some critical data from 2027 onwards, the team said.
But Neurocrine stock fell about 2% in early trading Monday as analysts on the conference call questioned the drug’s long-term prospects.
Vykat XR had a strong launch. The drug, which was approved by the FDA in March 2025 and launched in the second quarter, generated $190 million in sales for Soleno last year, including about $92 million in the fourth quarter.
Neurocrine can expand adoption of Vykat XR by leveraging its commercial infrastructure and therapeutic expertise, Gano said. The San Diego-based neuroscience specialist currently has two commercially available products: Ingrezza, for tardive dyskinesia and chorea associated with Huntingon’s disease, and Cranesity, a CRF1 receptor antagonist for the treatment of a genetic disorder called classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
Several other biotech companies are developing potential rivals to Vykat XR. However, as Siddhanti pointed out, several projects in this area have fallen through recently. A few weeks ago, Aardvark Therapeutics paused a Phase 3 trial of its intestinal-restricted small molecule candidate in PWS. And Acadia Pharmaceuticals simply abandoned its intranasal carbetocin program for bulimia in PWS in September 2025 after a Phase 3 failure.
However, clinical failure of other drugs does not necessarily guarantee successful deployment of Vykat XR.
Gano said Neurocline went through a “rigorous diligence process” before signing the deal to assure analysts of Soleno’s value.
“What we have seen through our efforts to date are all aspects of the potential blockbuster profile that we are creating with Vykat XR,” the CEO said.
Regarding the drug’s long-term prospects, Eric Benevich, Neurocrine’s chief commercial officer, noted the early launch pattern, which has some similarities to Cranesity.
“There are several (academic) centers and clinics where these PWS patients are concentrated,” Benevich said. “But there is also a so-called long tail of patients who are cared for in community clinics. And certainly the majority of our patients are outside of these centers of excellence and more centralized clinics. So it takes time to reach all of our patients.”
But Wells Fargo analysts suggested that expanding into community settings may not be so easy. Analysts also noted that treatment adherence and continuity could be an issue because it takes time for patients to realize the weight benefits of Vykat XR. Additionally, the drug’s label warns your doctor to monitor you for signs of edema or fluid overload.
In response, Gano argued that Vykat XR is not a drug intended for weight loss.
“We’re not necessarily looking for an opportunity for patients to lose weight here,” he said, “but if we start treatment at a younger age with a lower BMI, we can maintain weight over time, and that’s something we’ll be looking at going forward.”
Regarding the safety profile, Gano said side effects are monitorable and reversible, but acknowledged that “there will be a very important education component here.”
Further boosting Neurocrine’s confidence in its long-term return on investment, the company believes Vykat XR will have market exclusivity until the mid-2040s, Gano said.
For now, Neurocrine is focused on the drug’s U.S. sales opportunity, and the deal value is modeled solely on domestic sales, he added.
Neurocrine’s acquisition of Soleno has added to the recent surge in M&A deals in the biopharmaceutical industry, helping to alleviate concerns about a slow year after a quiet JPMorgan Healthcare conference in January.
In the past two weeks, Gilead Sciences signed a deal to potentially acquire Ouro Medicines for $2.2 billion to acquire autoimmune assets, Merck & Co. offered to buy blood cancer drug developer Turns Pharmaceuticals for $6.7 billion, and Eli Lilly raised $6.3 billion upfront to acquire Centessa Pharmaceuticals and its sleep disorders pipeline. Additionally, Biogen entered into an agreement to acquire Apellis Pharmaceuticals for approximately $5.6 billion in an immunology-focused transaction.
