Valeant Pharmaceuticals International has agreed to acquire fellow Canadian firm Afexa Life Sciences for $76 million in cash, a figure that comfortably tops an offer made by another company based in Canada, Paladin Labs, according to PharmaTimes.

Afexa chairman William White said the Paladin offer is "inadequate even to reflect the value of our marquee product [Cold-Fx] and gives little to no value of our growth opportunities through new products and new markets.” However the Valeant bid has been accepted unanimously by the board.

As part of the agreement, Afexa, which is based in Edmonton, has a 30 days 'go-shop' period to a find a better offer. Valeant has rights to match any bid that materializes or be paid a $3.75-million termination fee if Afexa chooses another proposal.