Pfizer has beaten out Sanofi, Gilead, Celgene and MSD to announce the US$14 billion acquisition of Medivation, the maker of PBS-listed prostate cancer therapy XTANDI (enzalutamide).
“The proposed acquisition of Medivation is expected to immediately accelerate revenue growth and drive overall earnings growth potential for Pfizer,” said Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer, Pfizer. “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. This transaction is another example of how we are effectively deploying our capital to generate attractive returns and create shareholder value.”
The acquisition will boost Pfizer's growing oncology business and follows its recent unsuccessful attempts to acquire AstraZeneca and Allergan.
Medivation, which was established in 2003, acquired the compound that eventually became XTANDI in 2009. The rights to XTANDI outside the US are owned by Astellas Pharma, including in Australia.
Pfizer will pay over US$81.50 per share for the company, which represents a substantial premium to Sanofi's offers of US$52.50 and US$58 per share. Medivation's share price before confirmation of Pfizer's takeover sat at around US$67.
Medivation's late-stage oncology pipeline includes talazoparib and pidilizumab. Talazoparib, currently in a Phase 3 study for the treatment of BRCA-mutated breast cancer, has the potential to be a highly potent PARP inhibitor and could be efficacious across several additional tumours. Pidilizumab is an immuno-oncology asset being developed for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and other hematologic malignancies.
“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,” said Dr David Hung, founder, president and CEO of Medivation. “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.”
