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Pfizer finalizes acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics 

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PfizerIn August, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) announced its plan to acquire Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) for $68.50 per share, or roughly $5.4 billion.

Today, the company announced that it had finalized the acquisition, giving it access to GBT’s portfolio of drug candidates for sickle cell disease (SCD).

The GBT acquisition also adds Oxbryta (voxelotor), a novel sickle hemoglobin inhibitor, to its portfolio. Oxbryta has won marketing approval in the U.S., the European Union, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Great Britain.

In 2021, Oxbryta generated $194.7 million in sales, representing a 57% year-over-year increase.

GBT won Orphan Drug and Rare Disease designations from FDA for GBT021601 (GBT601) and inclaclumab, respectively.

Pfizer has developed therapies for rare hematologic diseases for three decades.

The company has been on a spending spree of late.

In March, Pfizer wrapped up a $6.7 billion acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals. Two months later, Pfizer announced its plans to acquire migraine drug company Biohaven Pharmaceuticals for $11.6 billion.

“With Global Blood Therapeutics’ talent, portfolio, and pipeline now part of Pfizer, we look forward to accelerating innovation and expeditiously bringing multiple potential best-in-class treatments to people living with sickle cell disease,” said Aamir Malik, chief business innovation officer, executive vice president of Pfizer. “In line with our value of equity, Pfizer is committed to addressing the underserved needs of the sickle cell disease community. We are excited about these potential breakthroughs and the opportunity to transform the lives of these patients,” Malik added in a news release.

Pfizer shares fell 1.28% to $43.89 in mid-day trading today.

In related news, Pfizer continues to score regulatory wins for its updated COVID-19 vaccine booster, which it developed jointly with BioNTech (Nasdaq:BNTX). Today, Japan’s health ministry approved the updated bivalent booster, which protects against the BA.4 and BA/5 subvariants.

In September, Europe’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) recommended the same vaccine for approval.

Filed Under: Hematology
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About The Author

Brian Buntz

As the pharma and biotech editor at WTWH Media, Brian has almost two decades of experience in B2B media, with a focus on healthcare and technology. While he has long maintained a keen interest in AI, more recently Brian has made making data analysis a central focus, and is exploring tools ranging from NLP and clustering to predictive analytics.

Throughout his 18-year tenure, Brian has covered an array of life science topics, including clinical trials, medical devices, and drug discovery and development. Prior to WTWH, he held the title of content director at Informa, where he focused on topics such as connected devices, cybersecurity, AI and Industry 4.0. A dedicated decade at UBM saw Brian providing in-depth coverage of the medical device sector. Engage with Brian on LinkedIn or drop him an email at bbuntz@wtwhmedia.com.

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