Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Pfizer Inc. / Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

2005 · Acquisition/Merger · $298M · Complete

WRONG BY 40 POINTS

Pfizer paid ~$340M for Idun in 2005, then sold the whole subsidiary back for essentially nominal consideration ($250K + a $1M note) in 2010 after failing to advance its lead apoptosis/caspase program — the asset (emricasan) went on to fail three separate Phase IIb liver-disease trials under its new owner, Conatus, confirming the science never panned out.

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The coverage arc

Feb 23, 2005 PharmaTimes Bullish

Pfizer to acquire Idun Pharmaceuticals; lead asset IDN-6556 in Phase 2 for liver transplant patients and hepatitis C with data showing it is well tolerated and…

Apr 12, 2005 Pfizer Inc. Form 8-K Neutral

An in-process research and development charge of $0.3 billion relating to the pending acquisition of Idun Pharmaceutical, Inc.

Jul 13, 2010 PR Newswire / Conatus Bearish

Conatus Pharmaceuticals reacquired Pfizer's Idun subsidiary five years post-acquisition, signaling Pfizer deprioritized the apoptosis liver-disease platform.

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Pfizer completes acquisition of Idun Pharmaceuticals (apoptosis-focused biotech). Estimated $298M (some sources $400-500M); $250M IPR&D charge.

Did it work? Outcome assessment

Pfizer paid ~$340M for Idun in 2005, then sold the whole subsidiary back for essentially nominal consideration ($250K + a $1M note) in 2010 after failing to advance its lead apoptosis/caspase program — the asset (emricasan) went on to fail three separate Phase IIb liver-disease trials under its new owner, Conatus, confirming the science never panned out.

Strategic verdict
Failed to Achieve

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Pfizer Inc. / Idun Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (this deal)2005$298M10
Pfizer Inc. / BioNTech SE2020$748M100
Pfizer Inc. / FoldRx Pharmaceuticals201099
Pfizer Inc. / Medivation Inc.2016$14.0B86
Pfizer Inc. / Wyeth2009$68.0B86
Pfizer Inc. / Warner-Lambert Company2000$90.0B83
Pfizer Inc. / Arvinas, Inc.2021$2.4B77

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