Acorda to restructure, sell Parkinson's disease drug facility to Catalent

Acorda Therapeutics Inc. is planning a corporate restructuring to reduce costs and focus resources on Parkinson's disease drug Inbrija.

The company will sell its Inbrija manufacturing operations in Chelsea, Mass., to Catalent Inc. for $80 million in cash.

The parties also entered into a long-term global supply agreement under which Catalent will manufacture and package Inbrija. As part of the deal, Catalent will absorb all Acorda workers employed at the facility, plus some employees at Acorda's Waltham, Mass.-based location.

Acorda expects net proceeds of about $70 million from the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter. MTS Health Partners LP is serving as exclusive financial adviser to Acorda for the transaction.

Further, Acorda will cut its Ardsley, N.Y., Waltham and field workforce by about 16%. The restructuring, combined with other initiatives, is expected to reduce the company's annual operating expenses by about $40 million.

Inbrija, which is approved for use in the U.S. and the EU, is a formulation of levodopa, one of the main drugs used to treat certain symptoms of Parkinson's disease. In 2019, Acorda implemented a restructuring and reduced its workforce by 25%.

Acorda's stock rose by about 34% to $5.68 per share as of 12:47 p.m. ET on Jan. 13.