By Ovunc Kutlu
NEW YORK (AA) – Pfizer announced Monday that it will acquire biopharmaceutical company Medivation for $14 billion, marking a major step for research and development for both firms in cancer treatment.
Pfizer will pay $81.50 per share for Medivation in cash in a definitive merger agreement approved by the boards of both companies.
“The proposed acquisition of Medivation is expected to immediately accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for Pfizer,” Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer, said in a joint statement.
“The addition of Medivation will strengthen Pfizer’s Innovative Health business and accelerate its pathway to a leadership position in oncology,” he added.
The San Francisco-based Medivation’s drug XTANDI has treated 64,000 men to date in the U.S., and generated $2.2 billion in worldwide net sales in the past four quarters, according to the statement.
“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,” David Hung, M.D., founder, president and Medivation’s chief executive said in the statement.
XTANDI would also accompany Pfizer’s breast-cancer drug IBRANCE, providing the company a significant leap for its research to develop new treatment methods to strengthen immune systems of patients who undergo cancer treatment.
After the announcement of the deal, Pfizer’s share value rose 0.8 percent on the U.S. stock market, while Medivation’s stocks soared 20 percent.
The deal is expected to close before the end of the year.
