Shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals (NPSP) gained 8.21% in today's session after Irish drug maker Shire PLC (SHPG) agreed to buy the company for $5.2 billion  in an all cash transaction. This marks the first big corporate deal of 2015 and we expect a lot more acquisitions to take place in the biotechnology sector in the coming months. The acquiring share price of NPS Pharmaceuticals was $46 per share, which isn't a huge move from Friday's closing share price of $41.91. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

Shares of NPS Pharmaceuticals had been rising since 2014 as rumors surfaced that it would be acquired by a big pharmaceutical company. For instance shares of NPS rose around 45% in the one month period since December 2014. NPS has a specialty for creating drugs that treat gastrointestinal disorders. In fact, the company has one U.S. FDA approved product known as Gattex that is an injection for Short Bowel Syndrome. Short Bowel Syndrome is a disease characterized either by a removed portion of the large intestine or the small intestine not functioning properly. 

NPS also has an approved product by the EMA -- European Medicines Agency -- known as Revistive which is an injection approved for short bowel syndrome as well. NPS Pharmaceuticals is attractive to Shire because the currently marketed drugs make hundreds of thousands of dollars per each patient. This will allow Shire to attempt to distribute the drug further to other locations and expand upon NPS Pharmaceutical's current market. We believe that Shire has done a great thing by buying NPS and we believe that the company will still be on the lookout to acquire other value biotechnology companies that will be a good strategic fit for future growth.

See full press release here (pdf).