Alkermes to buy Reliant Pharmaceuticals for $934 million

CAMBRIDGE – Alkermes, Inc. announced that it had agreed to buy Reliant Pharmaceuticals LLC of New Jersey for $934 million in stock, the Boston Globe reported. The purchase moves Alkermes from a drug royalty distribution company to a full-fledged pharmaceuticals company, an analyst quoted by the Globe asserts. Reliant owns or co-markets five drugs, including Lescol, a cholesterol lowering drug manufactured by Novartis, and DynaCircCR, a blood pressure medication, also made by Novartis.