Biopharma giant Pfizer is eyeing an acquisition of Seagen, the biggest biotech company in the Seattle area, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal Monday.
Talks between the companies are at an “early stage,” according to the Journal.
A spokesperson for Seagen declined to comment on the report.
Merck was previously in advanced talks last year with Seagen over an acquisition deal that could have been worth more than $40 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported in July, but the companies reportedly did not reach an agreement.
Seagen’s stock was up more than 12% on Monday. The company is valued at more than $30 billion and employs about 3,200 people worldwide, including about 1,800 in the Seattle area.
Seagen brought in $2 billion in revenue last year, which included a 23% increase in sales for its four approved drugs. The company specializes in antibody-drug conjugates, drugs that deliver a toxin to tumor cells via an antibody that recognizes the cells.
Seagen is also testing the drugs in combination with immunotherapies, and is expecting a decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April on an application to combine its drug Padcev with Merck’s Keytruda as a first-line treatment for certain patients with urothelial cancer.
Pfizer pulled in $100 billion in revenue last year from its COVID-19 vaccine and other products, and is expecting revenue between $67 and $71 billion in 2023. Pfizer CEO Alberta Bourla has said his eye is on deal-making to grow the company, which last year acquired sickle-cell drug company Global Blood Therapeutics for more than $5 billion and completed a deal to acquire migraine drug maker Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.
Pfizer’s stock value dropped more than 1.5% in morning trading.
In November, Seagen brought on a new CEO, former Novartis executive David Epstein. Epstein took the helm of the company six months after Seagen co-founder and longtime CEO Clay Siegall resigned from the role in the wake of allegations of domestic abuse and an incident at his home where he was arrested. Siegall, who helped launch Seagen in 1998, has denied the allegations, and he will not face charges.
Seagen also announced plans last year to build a 270,000 square foot manufacturing facility north of Seattle.
