Congratulations to Southwest Virginia on achieving its first billionaire.  Randall J. Kirk, founder, CEO and Chairman of Radford, Virginia-based New River Pharmaceuticals, netted $1.46 billion (according to the Roanoke Times) or $1.3 billion (according to the Financial Times) in the company's acquisition by U.K. pharmaceutical firm, Shire Pharmaceuticals.

From the Financial Times:

The deal gives the UK company full control of Vyvanse, New River's drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that still has 17 years of patent protection. It will replace Shire's Adderall XR, which generates more than half of the company's sales but which will fade out once its patent protection expires in 2009.

The sale makes Mr. Kirk the closest non-North Carolina billionaire to Greensboro (approx. 135 miles).

I'm looking forward to FDA approval of Vyvanse.  It should help my blogging.

(Technically, Mr. Kirk was a billionaire pre-sale based on the stock price of New River.  I'm just trying not to dampen the Roanoke Times' enthusiasm here.)