Pfizer reached $5.4 billion deal Acquired Global Blood Therapeutics, which has a commercialized therapy for sickle cell disease and a pipeline of other drugs in various stages of development for blood disorders.
Under financial terms released Monday, Pfizer will pay $68.50 per share of Global Blood, a 7.2% premium to Friday’s closing price and a more than 100% premium to the biotech’s share price a week ago, after speculation of a Pfizer takeover began to circulate.Wall Street Journal report On Friday, Pfizer was in advanced talks to acquire San Francisco-based Global Blood.
Global Blood’s drug Oxbryta is one of the few FDA-approved treatments sickle cell anemia, and is the only way to address the root cause of the disease. Genetic diseases cause hemoglobin (the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells) to become stiff and misshapen, which in turn makes the normally round and flexible red blood cells stiff and sickle-shaped. These stiff blood cells block and impede blood flow and oxygen delivery to tissues. Complications include vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC), in which blocked blood flow and lack of oxygen trigger an inflammatory response in the body.
Oxbryta is a small molecule designed to bind to hemoglobin and prevent aggregation, the process by which hemoglobin within red blood cells clumps together that causes cells to take a sickle shape. FDA approved the drug in 2019. According to Global Blood’s annual report, it has revenue of $194.7 million in 2021. In the first half of 2022, the company reported Oxbryta sales of $126.7 million, up 46.3% from the first half of last year.
Oxbryta is a once-daily pill, a chronic treatment drug that may be taken for a patient’s life.The drug could eventually face competition from one-off treatments in the form of genetic medicines in clinical development bluebird creature, Sangamo Treatmentand Apex PharmaBut in the meantime, Global Blood is working on a next-generation version of the Oxbryta, codenamed GBT601. This small molecule from the Global Blood lab is designed to work in the same way as Oxbryta, but may have greater efficacy at much lower doses.
Global Blood has advanced GBT601 into Phase 2 of a Phase 2/3 clinical trial. The most advanced item in the pipeline is a polymerization-blocking drug called inlacumab. This monoclonal antibody is designed to target P-selectin, a protein known to reduce the incidence of VOCs. The global blood drug was licensed from Roche in 2018 and is currently in Phase 3 testing. The deal brings Global Blood more candidates for sickle cell disease. The 2019 partnership with Syros Pharmaceutical covers the development of small molecule drugs that boost fetal hemoglobin production. This still-preclinical approach aims to dilute the concentration of the form of hemoglobin that causes sickle cell disease, thereby offering a potential treatment.Last year, the company promised Up to $353 million for two Sanofi small molecule preclinical development rights.
Although sickle cell disease is relatively rare in developed countries, Pfizer estimates that about 4.5 million people worldwide have the disease, and more than 45 million people carry the sickle cell trait. The disease disproportionately affects those of sub-Saharan African ancestry, although it can also occur in other ethnic groups. In addition to approval in the US, Oxbryta has regulatory approvals in the EU, United Arab Emirates, Oman and the UK. Pfizer said it plans to use its global footprint to accelerate the distribution of Global Blood’s drug to the regions of the world most affected by the disease. If the other drugs in Global Blood’s pipeline hit the market, Pfizer estimates that combined with Oxbryta, they could be worth as much as $3 billion in sales.
Albert Bourla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, said: “Our more than three decades of deep market knowledge and scientific and clinical capabilities in rare hematology will allow us to accelerate innovation in the sickle cell disease community and accelerate innovation as quickly as possible. bring these treatments to patients,” said in a prepared statement.
Pfizer’s global blood deal came as the pharma giant’s early efforts to tackle sickle cell disease failed. Two years ago, Pfizer ends partnership with GlycoMimetics About the drug rivipansel. The drug is being developed to treat the VOC complications of sickle cell disease, but failed a Phase 3 study.Earlier this year, Pfizer termination Phase 1 testing of PF-07059013, another small molecule in development to treat the disease. The pharmaceutical giant said the drug did not exhibit sufficient pharmacological effects.
The boards of both Pfizer and Global Blood approved the acquisition, which The Wall Street Journal reported was a competitive process that attracted interest from other potential buyers. The merger agreement barred Global Blood from seeking another bid, but allowed the company to discuss and negotiate with the party that made the higher offer. If Global Blood decides to accept the offer, it will owe Pfizer $217 million in termination fees. But if the merger agreement is terminated for some antitrust reasons, Pfizer must pay Global Blood a “reverse termination fee” of $326 million.
In a research note to investors, William Blair analyst Raju Prasad wrote that his firm does not expect the FTC to have any concerns about the acquisition, given the rarity of sickle cell disease and the lack of treatment options. major issues.
Photo: Dominica Reuters/AFP, via Getty Images
