Pfizer revealed it would buy biotech group Biohaven Pharmaceuticals holding for $11.6 billion, memorializing its biggest deal since 2016 and maintaining its portfolio ahead of patent losses from some cancer drugs.
The deal will give Pfizer credentials to Biohaven’s approved drug Rimegepant, placing it as a strong contender in a crowded market: migraine treatments. Approved in 2020, Rimegepant treats acute migraine attacks and prevents migraine episodes — bringing in sales of $462.5 million in 2021.
This isn’t the only billion-dollar deal created by Pfizer in the past year — it’s just the biggest. The previous year, Pfizer bought Canadian drug developer Trillium Therapeutics for $2.26 billion and drug developer Arena Pharmaceuticals for $6.7 billion.
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“Investors will like this deal. Given Pfizer’s strong balance sheet, this is still a small acquisition, and we would expect more such deals,” Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal stated in a note.
Pfizer will acquire all the outstanding shares of Biohaven that it does not already own for $148.50 per share in cash, a 78.6% premium to Biohaven’s last closing price on Monday.
