WIKIMEDIA, REVISORWEBPharmaceutical giant Pfizer is inking another megadeal, this time to acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals, which makes crisaborole, a nonsteroidal topical treatment for atopic dermatitis, or eczema, that is currently under US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review. According to Reuters, Pfizer is shelling out about $5.2 billion, or $99.25 per share, for the Palo Alto, California-based Anacor.
“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,” Albert Bourla, group president of Pfizer’s global innovative pharma and global vaccines, oncology and consumer healthcare businesses, said in a May 16 statement. “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.”
If approved by the FDA, crisaborole is set to hit the market next year, and Pfizer is banking on the treatment raking in upwards of $2 billion per year.
Some pharma analysts had expected Anacor to be ...
