Pfizer Completes Anacor Acquisition

Major drugmaker Pfizer has completed its $5.2 billion acquisition of Anacor Pharmaceuticals. The California, US-based company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pfizer on Jun. 24. “Now that Anacor is part of Pfizer, we can accelerate our shared commitment to help patients with inflammatory disease, an area of high unmet medical need,” said Albert Bourla, group president of Pfizer Innovative Health.

He added that Pfizer was now in a position to quickly capitalize on the benefits of combining with Anacor, including the potential for a near-term product launch in the US and subsequent commercialization of crisaborole, a treatment for atopic dermatitis. The drug is currently under review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with approval anticipated next January.

Pfizer said the transaction was expected to be accretive to earnings from 2018 onward.