Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
Bayer's 1974 acquisition of Cutter Laboratories gave it an immediate US manufacturing and biologicals foothold, anchoring decades of American pharmaceutical operations. The deal's financial terms were undisclosed, though Cutter's Berkeley plant later became infamous for a contaminated blood-product scandal.
In 1978, Bayer purchased Miles Laboratories and its subsidiaries which included Cutter Laboratories, bringing product lines such as Alka-Seltzer and…
The Bayer pharmaceutical company bought Cutter Laboratories in 1974, acquiring the Berkeley-based pharmaceutical and biological products manufacturer that had…
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Bayer acquired Cutter Laboratories in 1974, gaining the Berkeley-based pharmaceutical and biologicals manufacturer (founded 1897) as part of its entry into the US market.
33K US cases/yr · $15.0B Global Hemophilia Treatment Market (2024) · $43B Global Blood Products Market (2024)
Cutter Laboratories was founded in 1897 in Berkeley, California by Edward Ahern Cutter. The company pioneered veterinary vaccines, including the first tissue culture vaccine ever produced (hog cholera). During WWII, Cutter expanded into blood plasma and penicillin production. Bayer acquired Cutter in 1974. The company became infamous for the contaminated Factor VIII blood products crisis in the 1980s.
Bayer's acquisition of Cutter gave it a biologics and blood products platform in the US. However, the contaminated Factor VIII scandal (1980s) -- where HIV-tainted clotting factors were knowingly distributed to hemophilia patients internationally -- became one of pharma's worst safety crises. Thousands contracted HIV, resulting in massive litigation. The blood products industry subsequently implemented viral inactivation standards and recombinant alternatives.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayer AG / Cutter Laboratories (this deal) | 1974 | — | 48 |
| Bayer AG / Schering AG | 2006 | $21.5B | 79 |
| Bayer AG / BlueRock Therapeutics | 2002 | $600M | 79 |
| Bayer AG / Merck & Co., Inc. | 2014 | $14.2B | 71 |
| Bayer AG / Schering AG (residual squeeze-out) | 2007 | $985M | 69 |
| Bayer AG / Arvinas, Inc. | 2019 | $1.0B | 59 |
| Bayer AG / Merck & Co. Inc. | 2014 | $14.2B | 56 |
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