Pfizer buys Global Blood Therapeutics for £4.4bn in Covid cash spending spree
Pfizer has bought Global Blood Therapeutics for $5.4bn (£4.4bn), as the US pharmaceutical giant continues its Covid-19 cash spending spree.
The deal will strengthen Pfizer’s sickle cell disease expertise, with bosses eyeing combined worldwide sales of more than $3bn (£2.4bn).
CEO and chairman Albert Bourla said: “Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder, and it disproportionately affects people of African descent.
“We are excited to welcome GBT colleagues into Pfizer and to work together to transform the lives of patients, as we have long sought to address the needs of this underserved community.”
The famed Covid-19 vaccine maker expects to finance the transaction with “existing cash on hand”, it said in a statement today, having secured $27.7bn (£22.8bn) in revenue in the second quarter, driven primarily by its Covid-19 vaccine and pill, known respectively as Comirnaty and Paxlovid.
Pfizer has been flush with cash following the success of its Covid-19 vaccine, which has been distributed worldwide and favoured by the UK government over Britain’s homegrown Oxford-AstraZeneca rival.
However, blockbuster revenues have sparked concern from campaigners over profiteering during the pandemic.
Campaigners from Global Justice Now, Act-Up London, Just Treatment and Stop Aids in April delivered wheelbarrows full of fake money to Pfizer’s UK headquarters in Surrey on the day of the firm’s annual shareholder meeting.