Pfizer aims to strengthen oncology position with Medivation acquisition
NEW YORK and SAN FRANCISCO — Pfizer on Monday announced that it would be acquiring biopharmaceutical company Medication in a cash deal valued at about $14 billion. The acquisition of Medivation, which is focused on developing and commercializing small molecules for oncology, I expected to have an immediately accretive impact on Pfizer’s adjusted diluted earnings per share upon closing, though Pfizer doesn’t anticipate it having an impact on its 2016 financial guidance.
“The addition of Medivation will strengthen Pfizer’s Innovative Health business and accelerate its pathway to a leadership position in oncology, one of our key focus areas, which we believe will drive greater growth and scale of that business over the long-term,” Pfizer chairman and CEO Ian Read said. “This transaction is another example of how we are effectively deploying our capital to generate attractive returns and create shareholder value.”
Among Medivation’s portfolio is Xtandi (enzalutamide), a leading novel hormone therapy that blocks multiple steps in the androgen receptor signaling pathway within a tumor cell, and was approved to treat prostate cancer in 2012 by the Food and Drug Administration. According to Medivation’s Xtandi development and commercialization partner Astellas Pharma, the product has generated some $2.2 billion in worldwide net sales in the last four quarters.
Medivation also has a wholly owned late-stage oncology pipeline, including two development-stage assets, talazoparib and pidilizumab, the former of which is being developed for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, among others, and the latter of which is in a Phase 3 study for treatment of BRCA-mutated breast cancer.
“We believe the combination with Pfizer is the right next step in our growth trajectory and is a testament to the passion and dedication by which the Medivation team has delivered on our mission to profoundly transform patients’ lives through medically innovative therapies,” Medication president and CEO Dr. David Hung said. “This compelling transaction will deliver significant and immediate value to our stockholders and provides new opportunities for our employees as part of a larger company. We believe that Pfizer is the ideal partner to extend the reach of our blockbuster Xtandi franchise and take our promising, late-stage assets — talazoparib and pidiluzimab — to their next stages of development so that they can be made available to patients as quickly as possible.”