Dendreon, the once-promising Seattle biotechnology company that developed treatments for prostate cancer, will be sold to Quebec-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. after no additional qualified bids emerged in the company’s bankruptcy auction.
The purchase price is set at $400 million in cash — a fraction of Dendreon’s peak value in 2010 but higher than Valeant’s initial bid of $296 million. Reuters reports that a potential bidder recently dropped out of the bidding process.
Dendreon filed for bankruptcy last November after struggling to find a buyer.
The company laid off 150 employees in 2013 in an effort to become a “leaner” and more “nimble” bioech company, at the time leaving about 820 staffers. It also closed a manufacturing facility in New Jersey in 2012, costing about 600 workers their jobs.
Dendreon once employed about 2,000 employees, considered the rising star in Seattle’s biotech landscape following the sales of ICOS and Immunex. The company released PROVENGE in May 2010.
Valeant plans to seek court approval of the Dendreon acquisition on Feb. 20, with the deal set to close later this month. Valeant employs about 15,000 people worldwide, with a market value of $55 billion. It purchased the Bausch + Lomb eyewear business in 2013.