Italian pharma company Alfasigma announced Tuesday that it will buy Intercept Pharmaceuticals for $794 million.

The acquisition will help boost Alfasigma’s gastroenterology and hepatology pipeline, as well as its U.S. presence, the company noted in a press release.

The buyout will also give Alfasigma access to Intercept’s lead candidate, Ocaliva, a farnesoid X receptor agonist that treats primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Ocaliva is currently the only second-line approved therapy for PBC and is projected to generate between $320 million to $340 million this year.

“Today’s proposed acquisition is aligned with our strategy to build presence in the U.S. market, with a focus in our core gastroenterological area while adding another important asset to our innovation pipeline,” Stefano Golinelli, chairman of the board at Alfasigma, said in a statement. “This acquisition will contribute to the ambitious growth strategy designed for our company.”

The acquisition comes after a tumultuous few years for Intercept, which attempted to snag a Food and Drug Administration approval for Ocaliva in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-related liver fibrosis. 

However, the agency rejected the original application back in 2020, as well as Intercept’s second attempt this year.

At the time, Intercept said it would discontinue its NASH-related work and restructure to focus instead on rare and serious liver diseases. The New Jersey-based company also cut about one-third of its workforce.

Intercept CEO Jerry Durso noted in a statement that the all-cash acquisition would deliver significant value to shareholders.

“Importantly, it recognizes the value of our portfolio, R&D and commercial capabilities and our talented people across the organization,” Durso added. “The team at Intercept is proud of the breakthrough, innovative work that we have done as a pioneer, delivering life-saving medicine to patients with rare and serious liver diseases such as PBC.”

Alfasigma CEO Francesco Balestrieri added in a statement that Intercept’s employees will join Alfasigma and that the team looked forward to working together as they “invest in the company to realize the full potential, to the benefit of patients.”

As part of the deal, Alfasigma will pay $19 per share – which marks a premium of 82% to Intercept’s previous closing price. For reference, Intercept’s shares were at $445 at their peak in 2014.