The all-cash deal represents a 40% premium over Vifor’s 60-day average share price as of Dec. 1 and is worth considerably more than the $7.1 billion transaction billion the market had initially anticipated. If all goes to plan, this would be the biggest pharma takeover of 2021, ahead of the stunning $11.5 billion US Merck & Co. coughed up for Acceleron.

With the proposed acquisition, the Melbourne-based drugmaker, whose portfolio is heavily weighted toward vaccines and blood plasma products, will be able to broaden its offering. CSL said the iron deficiency, nephrology & cardio-renal therapeutics platform of the Swiss company based in Glattbrugg, near Zurich, was clearly a drawing card. Vifor said it believes CSL’s global reach, R&D capabilities and balance sheet will allow it to bring its products to more patients.

“The combination with Vifor Pharma is expected to be immediately earnings accretive in the first full year of CSL’s ownership, and can be executed while retaining our balance sheet strength,” said CSL’s CEO Paul Perreault. He added that the purchase further advances the company’s 2030 strategy to create “high value growth, cash generative and sustainable business” complementing and expanding the global leadership positions of its two business units, CSL Bering and Seqirus.

With Vifor, the new Australian owner said it will gain complementary therapeutic focus areas across its existing platform, including hematology and thrombosis, cardiovascular-metabolic and transplant. Adding Vifor’s pipeline will give CSL 37 products in development, representing a 32% increase over its existing suite of pipeline products.

One caveat, analysts said, is that the Swiss company’s best-selling product, Ferinject, an iron supplement accounting for 30% of its sales, faces generic competition between 2024 and 2026.

Divestment of finished drugs to CordenPharma

Shortly before sealing the deal with CSL, Vifor announced it would sell its finished drug product manufacturing business for an undisclosed sum to CDMO CordenPharma. This move, it said, reflects its strategy to transform itself into a multi-brand commercial organization, focusing on its core capabilities of in-licensing, partnering and commercializing products in nephrology and further growing and maximizing opportunities of its iron portfolio.

Divestment of the activities at three sites in Fribourg and Ettingen, Switzerland, along with Lisbon, Portugal, will trigger an asset impairment to be reported in Vifor’s 2021 financial results. CordenPharma said it will integrate the facilities into its existing CDMO network of cGMP and R&D plants across Europe and the US and manage manufacturing operations under its Small Molecule Platform. It plans to retain the plant workforce, which will continue to produce and supply Vifor Pharma products. Commercial operations will remain with Vifor.

Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist