Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. has approached Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. about a possible sale to Valeant, people familiar with the matter said. The approach comes amid an investigation into what authorities described as the unusual death of the girlfriend of Medicis’s founder and chief executive, Jonah Shacknai. Since the girlfriend’s death at Mr. Shacknai’s home in July, Medicis shares have been underperforming the broader market, leaving the company vulnerable to a takeover approach, said people familiar with the matter. No suspects or persons of interest have been named, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office, which said Mr. Shacknai wasn’t home when his girlfriend, Rebecca Nalepa, was found.
