The pharma sector has been pretty active on the acquisition front over the last few years with several companies looking to boost their pipelines and product offerings in the face of generic competition.
Earlier this week, Pfizer Inc. (PFE) announced that it has acquired a controlling interest in Redvax Gmbh, a spin-off from Swiss biopharma company Redbiotec AG. With this acquisition, Pfizer’s vaccine pipeline will gain a preclinical human cytomegalovirus (CMV) vaccine candidate.
While financial details of the agreement were not disclosed, Pfizer said that together with the vaccine candidate it has also bagged intellectual property and a technology platform related to a second, undisclosed vaccine program.
With the addition of the CMV vaccine program, Pfizer will be one of the leaders in CMV research and development. CMV, a herpes virus, is estimated to infect about 50% – 90% of adults. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the U.S. alone, every year about 5,000 children develop lasting health problems caused by CMV.
We are positive on Pfizer’s efforts to boost its vaccines pipeline. The company’s Global Vaccines segment accounted for 8.7% of total sales in the first nine months of 2014. Late last year, Pfizer acquired Baxter International’s Inc. (BAX) portfolio of marketed vaccines. Pfizer also launched Trumenba, its meningococcal B vaccine last year.
We believe Pfizer will continue pursuing bolt-on acquisitions and deals to boost its portfolio and pipeline.
Pfizer is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better ranked stocks in the health care sector include AbbVie Inc. (ABBV) and Allergan Inc. (AGN). Both are Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stocks.
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