Pfizer dampens Astra bid hopes by signing German Merck cancer deal

Frankfurt/London: Pfizer punctured investor expectations of a renewed bid for AstraZeneca on Monday by signing a major cancer drug deal with Germany’s Merck KGaA, reducing the US firm’s need for Astra’s products. Merck will get an upfront payment of $850 million (Dh31,22 million) from the US drugmaker for sharing rights to develop its experimental immunotherapy drug with Pfizer. It is also is eligible for up to $2 billion in payments based on the medicine’s future success. Such immune-boosting medicines represent the hottest area of cancer research and are also a major focus for AstraZeneca, which has a rival product in development. Winning access to AstraZeneca’s cancer pipeline has been viewed as a key goal for Pfizer, which was unsuccessful with a $118 billion for the British group in May. It has a chance to renew its approach under British takeover rules from November 26.