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Pharmaceutical Companies Made Acquisitions a Top Priority in 2019

Over the past year, the pharmaceutical industry has witnessed a flurry of merger and acquisition activity.

Kyle Murphy, PhD
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Published: 22 Nov 2019

By the midway point of 2019, more than $200 billion had exchanged hands, exceeding previous years of $198 billion and $178 in 2018 and 2017, respectively. And the recent closing of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s acquisition of Celgene confirms the year’s largest deal at $74 billion — though a condition of the agreement is the divestiture of the latter’s psoriasis drug Otezla for $13.4 billion to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission.

According to analysts at Ernst & Young, pharmaceutical companies eye mergers and acquisitions to create more focused business models and increase their digital capabilities to compete with new entrants into the life sciences.

With most of the dust settled in 2019, PharmaNewIntelligence.com takes a look back at the deals struck by leading drug companies.

Johnson & Johnson

In April, the pharmaceutical company announced a $3.4-billion deal to acquire Auris Health and its robotic technology focused on lung diagnostics and therapeutics. The newly acquired technology adds to Johnson & Johnson’s digital surgery tools developed with Verily and tailored to spine care and orthopedics.

“The passionate team and differentiated innovation from Auris will help us amplify the power of digital surgery to address unmet clinical needs and lead a transformation in surgical care and lung cancer intervention," said the company’s executive vice president, Ashley McEvoy.

Roche

The Swiss developer of targeted treatments recently revealed its deal to acquire Promedior and full rights to the latter’s fibrotic disease biotechnology for $390 million with potential add-ons that could push the overall payout to $1 billion. Promedior has advanced the development of PRM-151 to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and myelofibrosis.

"We are excited to combine Promedior's portfolio with our drug development capabilities to further advance PRM-151 in fibrotic diseases, including IPF and MF," said James Sabry, MD, PhD, who heads up Roche Pharma Partnering.

Pfizer

The American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company was doubly active in 2019.

In May, Pfizer added to its rare disease therapies with the acquisition of Therachon and its unique genetic treatment for dwarfism, achondroplasia. The deal could be worth a total of $810 million by achieving key milestones in the development and selling of Therachon’s TA-46, an injection for children and teenagers with the condition.

“At Pfizer, our strategy is focused on advancing the most promising science in the world, regardless of whether it is found inside or outside of our labs,” said Mikael Dolsten, Pfizer Chief Scientific Officer and President, Worldwide Research, Development, and Medica.

One month later, Pfizer unveiled an $11.4-billion agreement to acquire commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company Array. The latter's small molecule technology focuses on cancer and rare diseases, such as melanoma and colorectal cancer.

"The proposed acquisition of Array strengthens our innovative biopharmaceutical business, is expected to enhance its long-term growth trajectory, and sets the stage to create a potentially industry-leading franchise for colorectal cancer alongside Pfizer's existing expertise in breast and prostate cancers," Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla announced.

Novartis

The Basel-based company that completed four acquisitions in 2018 followed up with two more in 2019.

In April, Novartis announced a $1.57-billion agreement to acquire IFM Therapeutics (IFM), a biopharmaceutical company with expertise in immune system therapies. The Swiss company took ownership of NLPR3 antagonists, comprising one clinical (IFM-2427) and two pre-clinical programs.

"IFM Tre's compounds have demonstrated that they can fine-tune the immune system, offering a potentially potent approach for treating a large variety of diseases associated with inflammation," said Jay Bradner, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research.

One month later, Novartis acquired the dry-eye drug Xiidra from Takeda for $5.3 billion as the latter pharmaceutical company looked to reduce its debts. According to Reuters, Xiidra generated $400 million in sales last year and still awaits regulatory approval to be sold in Europe.

“We look forward to leveraging our well-established commercial infrastructure to bring this medicine to more patients,” said Paul Hudson, Novartis’s chief executive.

Bayer

Not to be outdone by its European and American competitors, Bayer reached a $600-million deal with BlueRock Therapeutics and its cell therapy technology to breathe new life into its drug development.

As Reuters reported, the German drugmaker launched BlueRock in a joint venture with Versant Ventures in 2016. Since then, the biotechnology company has advanced its work on induced pluripotent stem cells, which have potential implications for Parkinson’s disease.

“We get access and full ownership in one of the most exciting areas of biology that exist currently,” Stefan Oelrich, Bayer’s head of pharmaceuticals, told the news outlet.

The German company has invested heavily in induced pluripotent stem cell research to develop new cancer therapies, with BlueRock set to be the company’s new foundation.

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