Pfizer’s proposed $43 bn takeover of Seagen faces EU investigation

Written by Samuel Stolton

Seagen revealed in a regulatory filing late Friday that both companies had referred the deal to the European Commission, and that the EU executive had accepted jurisdiction to investigate the proposal. The filings say EU approval is a condition for closing the deal.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission will subject the proposed merger to an in-depth antitrust review, as is customary for major deals. The companies said when the acquisition was announced that they expected the FTC to closely scrutinize.

Pfizer announced in March that it would buy Bothell, a Washington-based cancer drug maker, as a way out of the pandemic situation. Seagen is a leader in developing a type of drug called drug-antibody conjugation, which uses antibodies to deposit a powerful concentration of drug directly at the site of a tumor — an effort to increase efficacy with fewer side effects.

If the acquisition takes place, Pfizer said, Seagen’s portfolio would double Pfizer’s pipeline of experimental early-stage cancer treatments.

The notice of the investigation comes as the European Union continues to scrutinize large biotech deals.

This week, DNA sequencing giant Illumina Inc. has hit the block. A 432 million euro ($476 million) fine to pay through its $7 billion takeover of cancer test provider Grail Inc. without first obtaining regulatory approval. Later this year, EU regulators are likely to issue a winding-up order in this acquisition by EU regulators.