NEW YORK: Pfizer is spending USD 11.6 billion to buy the remaining portion of migraine treatment maker Biohaven Pharmaceuticals it does not already own.
The New York drugmaker said Tuesday it will pay USD 148.50 in cash for each share of Biohaven, which makes Nurtec ODT for treating and preventing migraines and has another nasal spray under development.
The price represents a 33% premium over Biohaven’s 90-day weighted average trading price of USD 111.70 for Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd., which is based in New Haven, Connecticut.
Shares of Biohaven, which had tumbled below USD100 in recent weeks, soared 72% before the opening bell to about USD 72. Pfizer’s stock slipped.
Pfizer Inc. has been flush with cash in recent quarters, thanks in part to sales of its Covid-19 vaccine Comirnaty and now its pill treatment for the virus, Paxlovid. Those drugs brought in more than USD14 billion in sales during the recently completed first quarter.