(Bloomberg) -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. agreedto pay about $1 billion in cash for Sprout Pharmaceuticals Inc.,the U.S. drugmaker that this week received approval to sell a pillfor low libido in women.

Valeant will also give closely held Sprout a share of futureprofits if certain milestones are achieved, according to astatement on Thursday.

Buying Sprout would move Valeant, which specializes in eye careand dermatology, into the women’s health market.

Valeant’s strategy is to grow through acquisitions. The companyhas announced 12 purchases in the past year valued at $14.9billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The biggest isthe $11.1 billion purchase of Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. forgastrointestinal disorder treatments.

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Sprout’s pill received approval on Tuesday from the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration. The drug has been controversial due tomodest benefits and serious side effects, and was caught up in adebate about whether male sexual dysfunction has received moreattention.

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Valeant said it will use its “global scale” to market the druginternationally. The purchase will have no effect on earnings thisyear and will add to earnings in 2016, it said. Sprout ChiefExecutive Officer Cindy Whitehead will join the company to lead thedivision.

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Sprout acquired the rights for flibanserin for an undisclosedamount from Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH in 2011, after the FDA toldBoehringer that the drug hadn’t been proven safe or effective.

Sprout conducted new tests with new measures of how women’ssexual desire was measured.

Marketing hurdles

Hurdles in marketing the pill will include convincing insurersto cover it, and educating doctors and patients on the benefits andrisks. Without insurance support, women may have to pay as much as$400 a month to try the pill, called Addyi, or flibanserin.

The FDA has said that doctors will have to take a trainingcourse to be certified to prescribe the drug, which will beavailable as soon as Oct. 17. Patients must sign a formacknowledging risks that include fainting and extremesleepiness.

Humana Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. health insurer by marketvalue, said Thursday that Addyi will fall into the same category aserectile-dysfunction drugs, which typically aren’t covered. AnthemInc., the third-largest, will cover the drug in its third tier,which means it will require higher copays than for generics andpreferred brand-name drugs. UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc. andCigna Corp. said they’re studying Addyi.

Sexism backlash

U.S. regulators had rejected the drug in 2013 for its modesteffect, and then faced a backlash from some doctors and researcherswho said the agency was being sexist. Drugs to treat male sexualdysfunction have become ubiquitous since Pfizer Inc.’s Viagra wasapproved in 1998.

Valeant will pay $500 million upon completion of thetransaction, expected in the third quarter, and an additionalpayment of $500 million in the first quarter of 2016, plus a shareof future profits.

Valeant, which is managed from the U.S., merged with BiovailCorp. in 2010 and moved its legal address to Canada. Itsacquisition record in the last 12 months is second only to RocheHolding AG of Switzerland in terms of the number of deals. Sproutis based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

--With assistance from Anjali Cordeiro in Hong Kong andJohannes Koch in Berlin.

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