Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Pfizer Inc. / Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

2005 · Acquisition/Merger · $1.9B · Complete

WRONG BY 50 POINTS

Pfizer paid $1.9B for two pipeline anti-infectives; wrote off $1.4B as IPR&D immediately, then dumped the flagship asset for $10M four years later — a textbook failed bolt-on.

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The coverage arc

Jun 16, 2005 FierceBiotech Bullish

FierceBiotech framed the $1.9B deal as Pfizer plugging late-stage holes in its anti-infectives pipeline at a 74% premium - a deal-making theme of the mid-2000s.

Jun 20, 2005 Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN) Bullish

C&EN reported analyst Jon Stephenson of Summer Street called dalbavancin 'the big winner' for MRSA potential and estimated combined 2009 sales near $375M, a…

Sep 08, 2008 Pfizer Bearish

Three years post-deal, Pfizer withdrew the dalbavancin NDA after regulatory feedback - validating skepticism that part of the Vicuron value depended on…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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Pfizer agrees to acquire Vicuron at $29.10/share cash (~$1.9B); 74% premium. Anti-infectives focus - anidulafungin, dalbavancin. Closed Sept 14, 2005.

Did it work? Outcome assessment

Pfizer paid $1.9B for two pipeline anti-infectives; wrote off $1.4B as IPR&D immediately, then dumped the flagship asset for $10M four years later — a textbook failed bolt-on.

Strategic verdict
Failed to Achieve

Key facts

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Pfizer Inc. / Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (this deal)2005$1.9B25
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

Compare all 7 side-by-side →

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