Actavis plc,  a unique specialty pharmaceutical company, has entered into an agreement with Mayne Pharma, under which it will divest the US rights to the Doryx brand acne treatment and related assets to Mayne for approximately $50 million.  The transaction is expected to close prior to the end of February.  

Under the terms of the agreement, Actavis will continue to package, distribute and actively promote the product for a transition period until May 2 following the close of the transaction.

"Actavis currently licenses and distributes Doryx in the US as part of our legacy Warner Chilcott partnership with Mayne, which is eligible to expire at the end of 2015," said William Meury, EVP Commercial, North American Brands.  "By agreeing to return the product to Mayne now, we receive value for the asset and, following a brief transition period, will enable our sales and marketing teams to focus their time and attention on supporting the expanded, industry-leading dermatology portfolio that will be part of our combined company following the acquisition of Allergan later this year.  We are committed to investing in our expanded dermatology portfolio and in our R&D pipeline in this important category, and look forward to continuing to grow our business within dermatology."

Doryx (doxycycline hyclate delayed-release tablets) is a tetracycline-class antimicrobial indicated as adjunctive therapy for severe acne.