Allergan to acquire Naurex for $560 million; bigger deal with Teva reportedly in works

Allergan PLC, the Dublin-based pharmaceutical giant, announced Sunday it has agreed to buy Naurex, a developer of drugs for depression and other central nervous system disorders, for $560 million.

Naurex, based in Evanston, Illinois, is privately held. Naurex's drugs are being tested in clinical trials but are not yet approved for sale.

The announcement comes among reports that Allergan is in talks to sell its enormous generic drug division to Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. The deal is valued at about $45 billion and could be announced as soon as Monday, according to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported the talks Saturday.

Both the Naurex and the Teva deals would move Allergan out of the highly-competitive generic drug business and allow it to focus on developing new drugs.