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LATE LAST YEAR GENE THERAPY MAKER PFIZER FINALISED ITS $43 BILLION ACQUISITION OF CANCER DRUG MAKER SEAGEN.
This acquisition will lead to the creation of a new oncology division at Pfizer, planned to start this month – which in turn will make the company the world’s biggest cancer research organisation.
In October 2023 the company reduced its full-year revenue forecast by 13% and announced a $3.5 billion reduction in jobs and expenses due to lower sales of its COVID-19 gene therapy injection.
Chris Boshoff, head of cancer research and development at Pfizer, will lead the new oncology division, reporting directly to CEO Albert Bourla.
Pfizer received all necessary regulatory approvals to complete the transaction following the end of the statutory antitrust wait period. In a further effort to ease the antitrust concerns of regulators the company agreed to donate royalties from its ‘cancer drug’ Bavencio sales to the American Association for Cancer Research. Bavencio generated $271 million in revenue in 2022.
BOURLA’S NEXT ‘MOON SHOT’ BET ON TURBO CANCER
Speaking late last year at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School, Bourla told the audience the company was in the process of re-organising ‘the whole organisation to make sure this area [ie. turbo cancer drug development], is… well equipped to be successful,’ describing cancer as the ‘moon shot’ – Moon Shot being the title of his 2022 book which gave the inside view on Pfizer’s ‘race’ to create the COVID-19 gene therapy.
At the time of its acquisition Seagen was described as a ‘small drug company’ with annual revenues that were ‘barely’ $2 billion.
The puchase had ‘many scratching their heads’ – why would Pfizer flush the enormous profits it made with its COVID mRNA gene therapy by overpaying $43 billion for a small cancer drug company?
Media personality Russell Brand looked at the purchase and concluded the reason for it was obvious – Pfizer was betting on drugs that treat turbo cancers becoming ‘extremely profitable.’
According to sources cited by Brand, Bourla has been on record telling media that he is certain 33% of people will get turbo cancers in the future. ‘Entire families’ will be affected, and the new treatments are like ‘missiles’ that will target ‘most turbo cancers.’ Pfizer will produce these treatments at a scale ‘never been seen before,’ he said.
