Pfizer Inc. (PFE) is a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of medicines and vaccines. Its business spans vaccines, oncology, internal medicine, hospital, inflammation and immunology, and rare disease. Some of Pfizer's most recognizable products include Advil, Lyrica, Zoloft, Viagra, Xanax, ChapStick, and Preparation H.

Pfizer traces its origins to 1849 when Charles Pfizer and Charles Erhart founded Charles Pfizer & Co. in Brooklyn, New York. The company became a publicly traded company in 1942. Two years later, in 1944, Pfizer succeeded in mass-producing penicillin, becoming the largest producer worldwide of the first antibiotic.

More recently, the company was at the forefront of efforts to stem COVID-19. In August 2021 its COVID-19 vaccine was the first to receive full approval from the U.S. 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The vaccine, along with COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid, helped make Pfizer the world's top-ranked drug company by revenue in 2021.

Acquisitions have fueled much of the company's growth over the past few decades. Its biggest occurred in 2000 with the acquisition of Warner-Lambert, which gave Pfizer control of Lipitor, a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:blockbuster drug used to treat high cholesterol.

Pharmaceutical companies spend significant amounts of money to develop new drugs. Once patented, these drugs may enable companies to reap outsized profits as an exclusive producer for years before competitors are allowed to develop and market generic alternatives. Many of Pfizer's acquisitions were for companies with patented drugs. Its deal for Warner-Lambert and the ensuing buyout of Pharmacia in 2003 are two examples.

The company has also targeted generic drugmakers with attractive drug pipelines, such as Hospira, and has been bolstering its pipeline of cancer treatments by acquiring ꦑseveral oncology-fo💫cused drug developers.

We look in detail at seven of Pfizer’s major acquisitions below.

Warner-Lambert

• Type of business: pharmaceuticals
• Acquisition price: $116 billion
• Acquisition date: June 20, 2000 (completed)

Warner-Lambert was formed in 1955 when William R. Warner & Co. combined with Lambert Pharmacal Co. The company subsequently expanded primarily through acquisitions—most notably the 1970 purchase of Parke-Davis, once the world’s largest drugmaker.

In 1996, Warner-Lambert and Pfizer entered into a co-marketing agreement for Lipitor, a synthetic lipid-lowering agent and one of the highest-selling drugs in the world. Lipitor was Pfizer's principal motivation in its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:hostile takeover bid for Lipitor developer Warner-Lambert.

Pfizer feared losing its marketing deal for Lipitor, under which it received half of the profits from sales of the drug. Warner-Lambert initially rejected the takeover bid, but after months of court battles agreed in February 2000 to be acquired by Pfizer. The deal closed in June 2000 and went on to significantly boost Pfizer's revenues.

Wyeth

• Type of business: pharmaceuticals
• Acquisition price: $68 billion
• Acquisition date: Oct. 15, 2009 (completed)

Wyeth started as John Wyeth and Brother, established in Philadelphia by John and Frank Wyeth in 1860. In the late 1960s, the company's Ovral was the leading oral contraceptive in the United States. It has since been discontinued.

In January 2009, Pfizer agreed to purchase Wyeth in a deal valued at $68 billion. Acquiring Wyeth augmented Pfizer’s 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:portfolio by adding two key drugs: Prevnar, a vaccine for infants against pneumococcal disease; and Enbrel, an arthritis drug. The company viewed vaccines and injectable biologic medicines as therapeutic areas less vulnerable to generic competition and needed new products to soften the blow from 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the expected loss in revenue once the exclusivity period attached to the Lipitor patent ended.

Pfizer completed the acquisition of Wyeth in October 2009 following approval by U.S. and Canadian antitrust regulators.

Pharmacia

• Type of business: pharmaceuticals
• Acquisition price: $60 billion
• Acquisition date: April 16, 2003 (completed)

Pharmacia was formed in April 2000 by the merger between Pharmacia & Upjohn and Monsanto and its pharmaceutical unit Searle. At the time of the merger, Searle had an agreement with Pfizer to co-promote Celebrex, a blockbuster arthritis drug the companies developed together. Celebrex is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to temporarily relieve pain and inflammation.

Pharmacia completed the spinoff of its agricultural 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:subsidiary Monsanto in August 2002. The month before, in July 2002, Pfizer agreed to purchase Pharmacia for $60 billion. The deal, finalized in April 2003, gave Pfizer full rights to Celebrex during a time when pharmaceutical companies were struggling to develop new drugs, facing increasing competition from generic drugmakers, and pricing pressures from governments and private buyers.

With this acquisition, Pfizer became the top pharmaceutical company by revenue in every major market in the world.

Seagen

• Type of business: biotechnology
• Acquisition price: $43 billion
• Acquisition date: December 14, 2023 (completed)

Seagen, formerly known as Seattle Genetics, is a biotechnology company. It was formed in 1998 with a goal to combat cancer and became a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:publicly traded company three years later in 2001.

Pfizer’s acquisition of Seagen in 2023 furthered the company’s strategic move into oncology, which is widely perceived to be one of the biggest growth markets in the pharmaceutical industry. Cancer cases continue to rise and Seagen, with its diverse and innovative drug portfolio, gives Pfizer another way to profit from this.

Hospira

• Type of business: pharmaceuticals and medical devices
• Acquisition price: $16 billion
• Acquisition date: Sept. 3, 2015 (completed)

Hospira became an independent, publicly traded company in 2004 after a spinoff from Abbott Laboratories (ABT). Over the next decade, the company became a leader😼 in developing and manufacturing biosimilars, medicines functionally similar to more expensive biotech drugs.

Hospira’s biosimilars pipeline was key to Pfizer's 2015 bid to purchase the smaller rival. Pfizer had spent years focusing on acquiring companies that manufactured costly biotech drugs shielded by patents. Meanwhile, the new focus by governments and health insurers on curbing soaring medical costs was expected to fuel global demand for biosimilars. Hospira was also a leading provider of injectable drugs and infusion technologies.

Medivation

• Type of business: biopharmaceuticals
• Acquisition price: $14.3 billion
• Acquisition date: Sept. 28, 2016 (completed)

Medivation was founded in 2003 by David Hung and went public through a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:reverse merger with a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:shell company in 2004. A reverse merger occurs when a private company purchasℱes a publicly traded one and takes over its exchange listing.

Medivation specialized in developing cancer drugs. The big prize for Pfizer in acquiring the company in 2016 was Xtandi, a drug for treating prostate cancer. Xtandi was generating about $2 billion in annual sales for Medivation, and analysts were predicting that those sales could dou🤪♌ble.

Medivation also had other oncology treatments under development. Pfizer expected these to benefit from combination with its research efforts, helping the company to become a leader in oncology.

Array BioPharma

• Type of business: biopharmaceuticals
• Acquisition price: $11.2 billion
• Acquisition date: July 30, 2019 (completed)

Array BioPharma, a company focused on the discovery and development of targeted small molecule drugs to treat patients with cancer and other diseases, was founded in 1998.

The biopharmaceutical company first began collaborating with Pfizer in 2017 on developing cancer drugs. Two years later, Pfizer paid a big premium to acquire Array BioPharma. The acquisition bolstered Pfizer’s expanding portfolio of cancer treatments with Braftovi and Mektovi. These drugs treat metastatic melanoma and other cancers.

The Bottom Line

Acq⛦uisitions offer pharma companies a quick way to innovate and grow product portfolios. Pfizer has been one of the most active in the sector. Over the past few decades, Pfizer, known for its COVID-19 vaccination, Viagra, Xanax, and a host of other drugs, has spent billionꦦs buying up other companies.

Its biggest deal to date was for Warner-Lambert, the maker of Lipitor, in 2000. Other notable acquisitions the company has made include Pharmacia, the manufacturer of anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex, Wyeth, who🍎se product portfolio includes Prevnar and Enbrel, cancer drug developers Seagen and Medivation, Hospira, a producer of acute-care and oncology injectables, and small molecule drug manufacturer Array BioPharma.