Pfizer coughs up $11.6bn for migraine treatment maker Biohaven
Covid vaccine maker Pfizer has said it will cough up $11.6bn to acquire pharma firm Biohaven.
Pfizer is snapping up the Connecticut based company in a bid to capitalise on a new class of migraine pill.
Biohaven’s migraine drugs could surpass $6bn in annual sales, Pfizer said on Tuesday.
Biohaven common shareholders are to receive $148.50 per Biohaven share in cash, plus 0.5 of a share of a new publicly traded company that retains Biohaven’s non-CGRP pipeline compounds.
Both Biohaven and Pfizer boards of directors unanimously approved the transaction.
Shares in Biohaven leaped 70 per cent to $141.63, while Pfizer was up 1.4 per cent at $49.31.
The deal will include the acquisition of Rimegepant, approved in the EU under a trade name Vydura, for treatment of migraine and prophylaxis of episodic migraine.
Pfizer will now also own Zavegepant, an intranasal spray for migraine treatment, set to be approved in the US in the second quarter of 2022.