Pharma BD Deal Intelligence
A $1.9B bet on two unapproved anti-infectives that Pfizer wrote off almost immediately, expensing $1.4B to IPR&D on close. Dalbavancin failed three FDA review cycles and was dumped with the whole Vicuron subsidiary for ~$10M in 2009, leaving only the minor antifungal Eraxis behind.
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.
Full analysis, sources & comparables →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.
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…
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.
All 6 sources with sentiment breakdown →
Pfizer agrees to acquire Vicuron at $29.10/share cash (~$1.9B); 74% premium. Anti-infectives focus - anidulafungin, dalbavancin. Closed Sept 14, 2005.
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.
Assessment window: 15yr post-close.
25K US cases/yr
Vicuron's two assets targeted two of the costliest hospital infection categories: invasive candidiasis (bloodstream Candida infections in ICU and immunocompromised patients) and complicated skin/skin-structure infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Both indications carry high mortality and rising antimicrobial resistance, with limited well-tolerated parenteral options.
At announcement (June 2005), Pfizer was buying into two competitive but durable hospital franchises. In antifungals, Merck's Cancidas (caspofungin, 2001) defined the echinocandin class and Astellas' Mycamine (micafungin) had just been approved in March 2005; Vicuron's anidulafungin had positive Phase III data showing superiority over fluconazole in candidemia and reached FDA approval as Eraxis in February 2006. In Gram-positive antibacterials, the standard of care was generic vancomycin plus newer agents Pfizer already owned (Zyvox/linezolid) and Cubist's Cubicin (daptomycin, approved Sept 2003); dalbavancin's pitch was once-weekly IV dosing for ABSSSI including MRSA, which would have differentiated it commercially. Industry analysts at the time framed the deal positively (C&EN reported Summer Street's Jon Stephenson estimating 2009 sales near $75M for anidulafungin and ~$300M for dalbavancin) given Pfizer's hospital sales force scale. The 74% premium over Vicuron's prior close reflected scarcity of late-stage anti-infective assets.
| Deal | Year | Value | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pfizer Inc. / Vicuron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (this deal) | 2005 | $1.9B | 25 |
| Pfizer Inc. / BioNTech SE | 2020 | $748M | 100 |
| Pfizer Inc. / FoldRx Pharmaceuticals | 2010 | — | 99 |
| Pfizer Inc. / Medivation Inc. | 2016 | $14.0B | 86 |
| Pfizer Inc. / Wyeth | 2009 | $68.0B | 86 |
| Pfizer Inc. / Warner-Lambert Company | 2000 | $90.0B | 83 |
| Pfizer Inc. / Arvinas, Inc. | 2021 | $2.4B | 77 |
← Browse all deals · How we score deals
More: 2005 deals · Pfizer Inc. deals