The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation, that Pfizer Inc. is in preliminary discussions to acquire cancer drugmaker Seagen Inc. in what could be a multi-billion-dollar deal.
The people stated there is no assurance that a deal will be reached because the negotiations are in their early stages. There would be several obstacles to get over, such as the potential for a strict antitrust review of any plan. If a transaction is reached, it would be significant because Seagen has a market value of almost $30 billion and would likely demand more than that.
According to the WSJ, Merck and Seagen were in advanced negotiations to merge, in a deal that would have cost at least $40 billion, but the two parties failed to come to an agreement.
Pfizer, situated in New York, has plenty of cash. The pharmaceutical company has made over $22.7 billion through the sales of Covid-19 vaccines, medications, and other goods.
Pfizer purchased Global Blood Therapeutics Inc., a manufacturer of sickle-cell medications, for over $5 billion last year and the remainder of Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holdings Co. for over $10 billion. A partnership would enable Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world with $100 billion in sales last year, to add a class of drugs that have demonstrated potential when used alongside so-called immunotherapies against some of the most common cancers to its arsenal of cancer treatments.
Also, it might assist Pfizer in making up the $17 billion in sales that it anticipates losing to patent expirations by 2030. By the end of the decade, Pfizer wants to increase sales by $25 billion through company expansion strategies, such as acquisitions. Sales for Seagen were close to $2 billion in 2017.
