The shares of Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ANAC) are skyrocketing following the announcement regarding its agreement to sell itself to Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).
The stock price of Anacor Pharmaceuticals surged more than 56% to $100.11 per share at the rime of this writing around 2:36 in the afternoon in New York.
In a statement, Anacor Chairman and CEO Paul Berns, said, “We have a deep respect for Pfizer, and it is clear that they share our commitment to addressing the significant unmet medical needs in inflammatory disease. We are proud of the innovative company that our team has built and are confident that Pfizer will help accelerate Anacor’s important mission given the strength of its global platform and resources.”
Anacor-Pfizer transaction details
Pfizer agreed to acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals for %99.25 per share or approximately $5.25 billion in cash. The transaction was unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies.
Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of Pfizer will start the cash tender offer to buy all of the outstanding shares of Anacor. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals in the United States.
Pfizer will acquire any shares of Anacor that are not tendered into the offer through a second-step merger. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016.
Attractive opportunity
“We believe the acquisition of Anacor represents an attractive opportunity to address a significant unmet medical need for a large patient population with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, which currently has few safe topical treatments available,’ said Albert Bourla, Group President, Global Innovative Pharma and Global Vaccines, Oncology and Consumer Healthcare businesses at Pfizer.
He added, “Crisaborole is a differentiated asset with compelling clinical data that, if approved, has the potential to be an important first-line treatment option for these patients and the physicians who treat them.”
Crizaborole is a flagship asset of Anacor. It is a non-steroidal topical PDE4 inhibitor with anti-inflammatory properties, and currently under review by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, commonly referred to as eczema.
Around 18 million to 25 million people in the United States are suffering from eczema.
Bourla believes that Anacor is a strong fit for Pfizer and further supports its strategic focus on inflammation and immunology. Anacor is expected to boost Pfizer’s near-term revenue growth in innovative business.
“We believe we are well positioned to maximize crisaborole’s commercial potential through our strong relationships with pediatricians and primary care physicians,” he said.
 are skyrocketing following the announcement regarding its agreement to sell itself to Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).){kind=link}