Pfizer is spending $6.7 billion to buy a drugmaker with no products on the market and a focus on developing treatments for inflammatory conditions like Chrohn’s disease
By The Associated Press
December 13, 2021, 2:12 PM
• 1 min read
Share to FacebookShare to TwitterEmail this articleNEW YORK -- Pfizer is spending $6.7 billion to buy a drugmaker that is developing treatments for inflammatory conditions like Chrohn’s disease but has no products on the market.
The pharmaceutical giant said Monday it will pay $100 in cash for each share of Arena Pharmaceuticals in a deal already approved by the boards of both companies.
Shares of Arena nearly doubled in premarket trading Monday after closing at $49.94 Friday.
Pfizer believes that Arena will bolster its expertise in inflammation and immunology. It plans to pay for the acquisition with cash on hand.
Arena has a potential treatment for ulcerative colitis in late-stage clinical testing that it also is testing to treat Chrohn’s disease. The company is developing possible treatments is in dermatology and for acute heart failure.
Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc., based in Park City, Utah, has lost nearly $461,000 through the first nine months of this year. Most of its revenue comes from royalties.
Arena’s stock climbed to $95.11 before the opening bell. Shares of Pfizer Inc., based in New York, rose 60 cents to $53.38.
