Pfizer in talks to acquire cancer drugmaker Seagen

The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Pfizer Inc is in early-stage talks to acquire cancer drugmaker Seagen Inc in a multibillion-dollar deal, citing people familiar with the matter. As of Friday's close, Seagen had a market capitalization of around $30 billion. Seagen was in advanced talks to be acquired by Merck, in a deal that would have been worth $40 billion or more, the Journal reported last year, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement, according to multiple reports. Seagen's stock has dropped nearly 10% since July, when the Merck talks were first reported.

In premarket trading, they rose 12.3% to $182. Pfizer declined to comment on the WSJ report, and Seagen did not respond immediately to a inquiry. Pfizer has stated that it expects to lose $17 billion in annual sales due to patent expirations for top drugs between 2025 and 2030, and sales of its COVID-19 products have begun to decline after contributing to an unprecedented surge in revenue.

While the firm has made acquisitions such as the $5.4 billion purchase of Global Blood Therapeutics Inc and the $11.6 billion purchase of migraine drugmaker Biohaven, analysts have noted the need for larger deals. "After a year of waiting for something impactful, this may be it," BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said in a research note, referring to the latest reported deal talks. Seagen makes "guided-missile" cancer drugs known as antibody-drug conjugates. The firm reported total 2022 revenues of nearly $2 billion, driven by demand for its approved therapies such as lymphoma treatment Adcetris and breast cancer drug Tukysa.