Pfizer to acquire Global Blood Therapeutics for $5.4 billion to enhance presence in rare haematology

Pfizer and Global Blood Therapeutics (GBT) yesterday entered into a definitive agreement under which Pfizer will acquire GBT, a biopharma company dedicated to the discovery, development and delivery of life-changing treatments that provide hope to underserved patient communities, starting with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD).

Under the terms of the transaction, Pfizer will acquire all the outstanding shares of GBT for $68.50 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $5.4 billion, including debt and net of cash acquired. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, the companies said in a joint statement.

GBT developed Oxbryta (voxelotor) tablets, a first-in-class medicine that directly targets the root cause of SCD. It was approved in the US in November 2019, and is also approved in the European Union (EU), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman and Great Britain. Net sales for Oxbryta were approximately $195 million in 2021. Leveraging its global platform, Pfizer plans to accelerate distribution of GBT’s innovative treatment to parts of the world most impacted by SCD, added the statement.

In addition, it said that GBT is developing GBT021601 (GBT601), an oral, once-daily, next-generation sickle hemoglobin (HbS) polymerisation inhibitor in the phase-II portion of a phase-III clinical study. GBT601 has the potential to be the best-in-class agent targetting improvement in both hemolysis and frequency of Vaso-Occlusive Crisis (VOC).

Pfizer expects to finance the transaction with the existing cash on hand. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and approval by GBT’s stockholders, concluded the statement.