MGI Pharma (Minneapolis, MN) signed a merger agreement on July 20 to purchase Guilford Pharmaceuticals (Baltimore, MD) for approximately $177.5 million. MGI Pharma plans to advance creation of an acute care business and enhance their existing oncology franchise.

The merger also gives several important assets to MGI Pharma, including Aquavan, a late-stage, acute care product candidate for procedural sedation; Gliadel, a marketed product for high-grade malignant gliomas that complements MGI Pharma’s current oncology franchise; and the Guilford field organization.

“Moreover, the addition of two early stage programs, NAALADase inhibitors for chemotherapy-induced neuropathy, and PARP inhibitors, as chemotherapy or radiation therapy sensitizers, fit strategically into our oncology development pipeline,” said Lonnie Moulder, president and CEO of MGI Pharma, in a prepared statement.

Upon closing of this agreement, a director of Guilford Pharmaceuticals will be nominated to join the MGI Pharma board of directors. The acquisition, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, is subject to Guilford stockholder approval and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2005.

–George Koroneos