Allergan's Healthy Prospects
Some of the medical problems and health-care treatment challenges facing millions of Americans are being addressed from new perspectives that offer both hope and immediate relief. Migraine headaches are suffered by close to 10% of the population in the U.S. What migraine sufferers want is faster, more effective pain relief.
That's why an already visionary health-care company Allergan (AGN) , decided to buy Map Pharmaceuticals (MAPP) for $958 million.
MAPP's blockbuster product, Levadex, will most likely be granted Food and Drug Administration approval in April, according to a "Mad Money" interview conducted by Jim Cramer with AGN Chairman and CEO Dr. David Pyott earlier this week. Levadex is an inhaled, faster-acting treatment for migraine sufferers. Dr. Pyott is very optimistic about future sales that will directly benefit AGN once the acquisition of MAPP is completed this year.
Another "problem" AGN is solving with a new "level of consciousness" is what to do with the lagging sales of its obesity division, which is mainly tied to the Lap-Band surgical device. The solution, according to Dr. Pyott, is to sell that part of AGN's business by the middle of 2013.
Allergan reported mixed earnings results on Tuesday, with revenue rising over 7% over the year ago quarter to $1.49 billion. Unfortunately, that missed the analyst consensus estimate of $1.51 billion by a frog's hair. No problems, however, for the stock price -- it leap-frogged forward and hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday of $108.73.