Pfizer to Buy Prostate Cancer Specialist Medivation
With an aim to accelerate its dominance in the field of oncology, the US pharmaceutical giant took a big leap to buy a US cancer drug firm, Medivation, for about $14 billion.
The deal was confirmed by Pfizer on its website on Monday morning.
Ian Read, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive officer made a statement expressing the benefits of the deal with the Medivation.
“The proposed acquisition of Medivation is expected to immediately accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for Pfizer,” said Ian Read.
The Pfizer’s chairman added, “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.”
San Francisco-based Medivation is widely known as the producer of the prostate-cancer treatment Xtandi. The company is popularly known for developing and commercializing small molecules for oncology as well.
Part of the Deal
The deal entails for Medivation to transact a valued $81.50 per Medivation share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $14 billion.
According to Pfizer, the Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the merger, which is expected to be immediately accretive to Pfizer’s Adjusted Diluted EPS upon closing, approximately $0.05 accretive in the first full year after close additional accretion and growth anticipated thereafter.
Pfizer and Medivation Join Forces
Pfizer’s portfolio of oncology products are prominent in the pharmaceutical industry that includes breast cancer treatment Ibrance and other promising immuno-oncology products.
The biopharmaceutical company Medivation is known for producing Xtandi, an androgen receptor inhibitor that blocks multiple steps in the androgen receptor signaling pathway within the tumor cell. The cancer drug treated 64,000 men to date in the U.S. alone.
Medivation believes the deal is a smart thing to do for both companies.
David Hung, M.D., founder, president and CEO of Medivation said, “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.”
Cancer as Top 10 Killer World Wide
In the US, cancer hits the second spot as the leading cause of death in the U.S. and a Top 10 killer worldwide. Breast cancer and prostate cancer belong to top three cancers by annual incidence in the U.S.