March 13, 2023 – Pfizer and Seagen announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Pfizer will acquire Seagen, a global biotechnology company that discovers, develops and commercializes transformative cancer medicines, for $229 in cash per Seagen share for a total enterprise value of $43 billion. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction.
Seagen is a pioneer in ADC technology, with four of the twelve total FDA-approved and marketed ADCs using its technology industry-wide. ADCs are a transformative modality that is emerging as a powerful tool across a broad range of cancers designed to preferentially kill cancer cells and limit off-target toxicities. Seagen has developed a leadership position in ADC technologies since its founding 25 years ago, with groundbreaking and proprietary technology that is positioned for significant growth in 2023 and beyond. Seagen’s portfolio includes four approved medicines that are first- or best-in-class in their respective indications across solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, including three ADCs: ADCETRIS® (brentuximab vedotin), PADCEV® (enfortumab vedotin), and TIVDAK® (tisotumab vedotin). The company also commercializes TUKYSA® (tucatinib). Clinical development programs are ongoing for each of these medicines for potential new tumor types or expanded indications in earlier lines of therapy, with catalysts expected annually through 2027.
Seagen is also poised to expand the impact of its therapeutic approach with its broad and deep pipeline that includes eleven new molecular entities, many with the potential to treat large patient populations and all with global commercial rights.3 The proposed acquisition is also expected to enable for combination potential across both the Seagen and Pfizer pipelines and will leverage Pfizer’s protein engineering and medicinal chemistry capabilities to advance Seagen’s ADC technology to unlock potential novel target combinations and next-generation biologics.
Seagen is also advancing innovative technologies capable of potentially generating multiple Investigational New Drug Applications (INDs) , including next-generation linker/payload technologies for ADCs and other innovative antibody platforms that directly engage the immune system to destroy tumors, such as bi-specific antibodies.
Pfizer Oncology has an industry-leading portfolio of 24 approved innovative cancer medicines that generated $12.1 billion in 2022 revenues, including the best-selling therapies for metastatic breast cancer and prostate cancer. Pfizer’s in-line portfolio is focused on four broad, key areas: breast cancer, genitourinary cancer, hematology and precision medicine, complemented by an extensive pipeline of 33 programs in clinical development. The proposed combination with Seagen would double Pfizer’s early-stage oncology clinical pipeline.