Pfizer expects to close Medivation buyout in 3Q
NEW YORK - Pfizer (PFE) expects to complete its $14 billion buyout of cancer drug developer Medivation (MDVN) in the third quarter following the expiration of a regulatory waiting period.
The New York drugmaker has agreed to pay $81.50 per Medivation share, which marked a 21 percent premium to San Francisco-based Medivation’s closing price when it was announced in August.
The acquisition will stock Pfizer’s product portfolio with leading treatments for the most common cancers in men and women by adding Medivation’s pricey prostate cancer treatment Xtandi to a lineup that already includes the breast cancer drug Ibrance.
Medivation focuses on developing medicines for cancer and serious diseases with few treatment options. Pfizer is better known for mass market drugs, including the impotence pill Viagra and cholesterol drug Lipitor.
Xtandi is Medivation’s key revenue driver, bringing in $943 million in 2015. But, the drug has drawn attention for its $129,000-a-year list price.
Pfizer Inc. says Medivation also has a promising pipeline of cancer drugs in late-stage clinical development. That includes the potential breast cancer treatment talazoparib and a potential lymphoma drug. Researchers also are studying Xtandi as a possible treatment for earlier-stage prostate cancers.
Medivation Inc. shares rose 36 cents to $81.44 in morning trading Friday while Pfizer shares slipped 3 cents to $34.13.