Pfizer Inc. agreed to purchase cancer-drug maker Seagen Inc. for an enterprise value of $43 billion, gaining the company’s antibody drugs that fight tumors.
Pfizer will pay $229 a share in cash for Seagen, according a statement Monday, about a third more than the drugmaker’s closing share price Friday.
Seagen is a leader in developing a type of medicine called antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs. These precision medicines deliver cancer-killing drugs so potent they might otherwise be too toxic to use. The new delivery mechanism uses antibodies to deposit a strong concentration of drug directly at a tumor site, which may increase efficacy with fewer side effects.
