Pfizer has boosted its vaccines portfolio with a $635m deal to acquire two of Baxter’s marketed vaccines.
The pharma giant will pick up the rights to Baxter’s group C meningococcal meningitis vaccine NeisVac-C and FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac, which help protect against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
The deal, struck three months after Novartis sold most of its vaccines interests to GlaxoSmithKline, will also see Pfzier purchase a portion of Baxter’s facility in Orth, Austria where the vaccines are manufactured.
Susan Silbermann, president of Pfizer Vaccines, said: “For over a decade Pfizer has been the global leader in pneumococcal disease prevention. We are working hard to bring innovative vaccines to market that prevent and treat serious diseases.”
Both NeisVac-C and FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac are currently available outside the US – primarily in a number of European markets.
The deal is expected to close by the end of 2014 and will, Silbermann said, bring “scale and depth” to Pfizer’s existing vaccines portfolio.
Baxter has been working towards the sale of its vaccines interests since the company’s March split into two business – one that focuses on medical products and the other on biopharmaceuticals.
Last year the company’s vaccines sales rose 15 per cent to $292m, driven by international sales growth for FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac and collaborations relating to the development of influenza vaccines, and this year Baxter expects its vaccine revenue to reach $300m.
The company’s deal with Pfizer did not include either its influenza vaccine development programme, nor that focused on Lyme disease, for which Baxter “continues to explore strategic options, including the potential for partnering or divesting [them]”.
Ludwig Hantson, president of Baxter BioScience, said: “This action reflects our strategic priority to optimise the portfolio and enhance focus in specific disease areas as Baxter’s BioScience organisation prepares to become a separate, independent global biopharmaceutical company.
“We are confident that Pfizer, with its recognised global leadership in vaccines, will provide the dedicated, on-going investments necessary to support and advance the availability of these important vaccines.”