Valeant Pharmaceuticals will acquire Sprout Pharmaceuticals, the maker of a newly approved female libido drug, for about $1 billion.
The big move announced early Thursday comes a few days after Sprout got approval from the Food and Drug Administration for flibanserin, a drug intended to increase female sexual desire.
Valeant said that it would work to bring the drug, commercially known as Addyi, to other international markets.
The deal must still be approved by federal regulators and is expected to close by the third quarter of this year.
Sprout is a small pharmaceutical company located in Raleigh, N.C., with 34 employees. CEO Cindy Whitehead told reporters Wednesday that the company had wanted to expand rapidly to about 200 now that Addyi was approved.
The once-daily drug is to be used by pre-menopausal women to alter brain chemicals in an effort to boost sexual desire.
It was approved after a lobbying campaign and members of Congress accused the FDA of gender bias because no treatments for female sexual dysfunction have been approved, while more than 20 have been approved for men.
Addyi cannot be taken with alcohol and can lead to low blood pressure. The FDA included a requirement that pharmacies wishing to dispense the drug complete an online education program before doing so.
Sprout hopes to make Addyi available by Oct. 17.
