Biopharma snags over £30m windfall from Pfizer’s latest billion-dollar deal
Life science debt investor Biopharma Credit has snagged a more than £30m windfall thanks to Pfizer’s latest billion-dollar deal.
Pfizer, the US pharmaceutical giant behind one of the world’s most successful Covid-19 vaccines, confirmed yesterday that it has bought Global Blood Therapeutics for $5.4bn (£4.4bn), as the US pharmaceutical giant continues its Covid-19 cash spending spree.
UK-based Biopharma has $132.5m (£109.3m) in a senior secured loan to Global Blood Therapeutics and now expects to receive an around $38m (£31.3m) paydown this autumn, the trust’s investment manager confirmed today.
The global pharmaceutical and life science sectors have been among the pandemic’s biggest winners, having seen strong flows of investment.
Pfizer, now flush with pandemic cash, expects to finance the latest transaction with “existing cash on hand”, having secured $27.7bn (£22.8bn) in revenue in the second quarter of this year, driven primarily by its Covid-19 vaccine and pill.
With the pandemic’s larger players going on their anticipated spending sprees, onlookers have long said that M&A in the space will trickle down the pharma’s small and mid-cap firms.