Among Intra-Cellular’s neuropsychiatric assets is Caplyta, a pill approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression and proposed for major depressive disorder.
Kicking off the 2025 JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, Johnson & Johnson on Monday announced that it will acquire neurology leader Intra-Cellular Therapies for a total equity value of $14.6 billion.
J&J is snapping up all outstanding shares of Intra-Cellular for $132 apiece in cash, which the pharma will fund through cash-on-hand and debt. The companies expect to close the transaction “later this year,” pending regulatory and antitrust clearance, the approval of Intra-Cellular’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions. Once the deal is completed, Intra-Cellular will no longer trade on the Nasdaq.
“This acquisition further differentiates our portfolio, [and] serves as a strategic near- and long-term growth catalyst” for J&J, CEO Joaquin Duato said in a statement, adding that Intra-Cellular’s portfolio of assets will help the pharma meet its goal of addressing “today’s most devastating neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.”
For the industry and the neuroscience space in particular, Monday’s $14.6-billion merger represents “a much-needed win … after a string of recent failures,” Stifel analysts wrote in a note to investors, suggesting that the deal “should breathe some much needed life back into” the central nervous system (CNS) space.
“This is the 4th multi-billion dollar neuroscience deal after Karuna, Cerevel, and Longboard,” the Stifel analysts added. “In our view, this continues to validate the size of major CNS end-markets (schizophrenia, depression, epilepsy) even in the presence of many old generics.”
The centerpiece of Monday’s acquisition agreement is Intra-Cellular’s Caplyta (lumateperone) a once-daily antipsychotic pill indicated for schizophrenia and depressive episodes in bipolar I or bipolar II disorder. Caplyta is also poised for a label expansion, with a supplemental New Drug Application filed in December 2024 proposing the drug’s use in major depressive disorder as an adjunct to antidepressants.
J&J will also win ownership over the Phase II ITI-1284, which is being developed for generalized anxiety disorder and Alzheimer’s disease agitation and psychosis. The pharma will likewise get Intra-Cellular’s clinical pipeline, which includes several neuro assets being tested for Parkinson’s disease, pain, opioid use disorder and mood disorders.
According to Monday’s news release, Intra-Cellular’s portfolio “further complements and strengthens” J&J’s current neuroscience business, anchored by the antipsychotic Invega franchise and the antidepressant nasal spray Spravato. In May 2024, the pharma also reported that its investigational major depressive disorder drug seltorexant aced the Phase III MDD3001 study, leading to significant and meaningful improvements in depressive symptoms and sleep.
Not all has been well for J&J’s neuro unit, however, with the company in October 2024 scrapping several programs in this field, including seltorexant in Alzheimer’s agitation and aggression, as well as the early-stage JNJ-0376 being tested for Parkinson’s disease.
