Pfizer to buy Anacor Pharmaceuticals in $5.2bn deal

Pfizer will pay $99.25 in cash for each Anacor share. The transaction is scheduled to be completed in the third quarter of this year.

Anacor is engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small-molecule therapeutics derived from its boron chemistry platform.

The acquisition will give Pfizer access to Anacor’s non-steroidal topical gel, crisaborole, which is currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, commonly referred to as eczema.

Pfizer believes that if approved, crisaborole’s annual sales could reach $2bn.

Anacor also holds the rights to Kerydin, a topical treatment for onychomycosis (toenail fungus) that is distributed in the US by Novartis’ Sandoz business.

Apart from crisaborole and Kerydin, Anacor has discovered three investigational compounds that have been out-licensed for additional development.

The company also has a pipeline of other internally discovered topical and systemic boron-based compounds in early stages of research and development.

Pfizer group president of global innovative pharma and global vaccines for oncology and consumer healthcare businesses Albert Bourla said: "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.

"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."

Image: Pfizer World Headquarters in New York City. Photo: courtesy of Norbert Nagel, Mörfelden-Walldorf, Germany.