J&J gains viral therapies in $1.75B Alios acquisition

Johnson & Johnson, the biggest maker of consumer health products, said Tuesday that it would acquire Alios BioPharma Inc., a developer of viral disease therapies.

J&J will pay $1.75 billion in cash for closely held Alios, according to a statement. Alios, based in South San Francisco, Calif., is developing treatments for influenza, rhinoviruses, and respiratory syncytial virus, which causes infections in infants and has no approved preventative therapy.

Alios's compound "AL-8176 complements our existing early-stage portfolio for RSV, which aims to prevent and treat this disease, the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infection in children under the age of 5," said William Hait, J&J's global head of research and development, in the statement.

J&J shares gained less than 1 percent to $106.62 at the close in New York. Shares are up 23 percent over the last year.

J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., has raised its earnings forecast for the year for two consecutive quarters with help from its hepatitis C drug Olysio, which generated $831 million in the second quarter. The pill has led J&J's drug business to become the company's biggest unit.

The acquisition is targeted to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory review. J&J has 126,000 employees in about 270 operating companies, including facilities in the Philadelphia region.