Pfizer said March 13 it will acquire Seagen, a cancer therapeutics company, for $43 billion.
Previously, Merck was weighing a scoop of Seagen, but that fell through, according to The Wall Street Journal. After that potential buy dropped, Pfizer scooped the oncology business.
For the first time, Pfizer surpassed Johnson & Johnson's sales in 2022, mainly because of its COVID-19 products. With the public health emergency ending in May and COVID-19 vaccine sales falling, the vaccine-maker may be eyeing strategic bids for other pharmaceutical companies, according to the Journal.
"Oncology continues to be the largest growth driver in global medicine," Pfizer Chair and CEO Albert Bourla, PhD, said, "and this acquisition will enhance Pfizer's position in this important space and contribute meaningfully to the achievement of Pfizer's near- and long-term financial goals."
The drugmaker said it expects the transaction to finalize in late 2023 or early 2024.