Pfizer stated on Monday, August 23, it would buy Canadian drug developer Trillium Therapeutics in a US$2.26 billion deal to strengthen its arsenal of blood cancer therapies, reported Bloomberg.
Pfizer, which acquired a US$25 million stake in Trillium last year, will buy the remaining outstanding shares for US$18.50 apiece, representing a 203.8% premium on the stock’s last closing price.
Pfizer expects to benefit from Canada-based Trillium’s blood-cancer therapies that target a “don’t eat me” signal used by cancer cells to evade the immune system.
Forty Seven, which is also developing drugs that target the same antibodies, was bought by Gilead Sciences for US$4.9 billion last year.
More than 1 million people worldwide were diagnosed with blood cancer in 2020, representing almost 6% of all cancer diagnoses. The same year, more than 700,000 people worldwide died from a form of blood cancer.
Trillium’s US-listed shares were trading at US$17.73 before the bell on Monday, having fallen 59% in 2021 as of their last close. Pfizer bought nearly 2.3 million Trillium shares at US$10.88 each in September.
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