Anacor Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ANAC)
Anacor shares have risen an impressive 56% following news that Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) is buying the company in deal valued at $5.2 billion, to acquire an eczema ointment. Under terms of the deal, Pfizer will pay $99.25 for each outstanding share.
Anacor-Pfizer Deal
Anacor stock had fallen 43 percent this year to Friday’s close, yet the news of the impending acquisition by Pfizer has produced a remarkable volte-face. The swing in direction corresponds to a 60% premium as compared to last Monday’s closing price of $62.55 for Anacor’s stock. The deal between the drug giant and Anacor should be completed in the third quarter of 2016. Pfizer anticipates the agreement will entail slightly reduced adjusted earnings per share in 2017, yet should add to adjusted EPS in 2018. The Boards of Directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. The equity value of the Anacor deal is $4.45 billion, based on the company’s outstanding fully diluted shares as of March 31. Pfizer said it believed crisaborole had the potential to reach or exceed peak sales of $2 billion.
“We believe the acquisition of Anacor represents an attractive opportunity to address a significant unmet medical need for a large patient population with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis, which currently has few safe topical treatments available,” said Albert Bourla, president of Pfizer’s global innovative pharma and vaccines, oncology and consumer healthcare businesses. Mr. Bourla added that “Anacor will be a strong fit with Pfizer’s innovative business, further supporting our strategic focus on Inflammation and Immunology.”
Innovative Eczema Unguent
The treatment Pfizer was so zealous to obtain is an eczema treatment, crisaborole, which has achieved statistically-significant results in late-stage studies with the Food and Drug Administration. In the past 15 years, there have been no new molecules approved for eczema – or atopic dermatitis – a common, relapsing, inflammatory skin disorder that affects 18-25 million people in the United States alone. Crisaborole topical ointment, is a non-steroidal topical anti-inflammatory PDE-4 inhibitor for the potential treatment of mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis. Crisaborole is to reduce the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines thought to cause the signs and symptoms of atopic dermatitis. In a long-term safety study, crisaborole was found to be well-tolerated. In March 2016, the FDA accepted Anacor’s New Drug Application for review. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date for the completion of the FDA’s review is January 7, 2017.
About ANACOR
Anacor Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel small-molecule therapeutics. Anacor’s first approved product, KERYDIN® (tavaborole) topical solution, 5%, is an oxaborole antifungal approved by the U.S. FDA in July 2014 for the topical treatment of onychomycosis of the toenails. Sandoz Inc., a Novartis company, currently distributes and commercializes KERYDIN in the United States. Beyond KERYDIN and crisaborole, Anacor has discovered three investigational compounds that it has out-licensed for further development. Anacor also has a pipeline of other internally discovered topical and systemic boron-based compounds in early stages of research and development.
