Just weeks after Pfizer boosted its sterile injectables portfolio through the $225m acquisition of InnoPharma, the biopharma giant has opened its wallet again, paying Baxter $635m for its NeisVac-C and FSME-IMMUN/TicoVac vaccines, used to protect against meningitis and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) respectively.
The decision to sell was attributed to the “strategic priority to enhance the focus of Baxter BioScience on our core areas of expertise as [it] prepares to become an independent global biopharmaceutical company in 2015,” spokesperson Deborah Spak told Biopharma-Reporter.com.
She added the firm was concentrating on immunology, hematology/oncology and technology platforms such as gene therapy and biosimilars.
The deal includes the buildings used for production of the two vaccines at Baxter’s Orth, Austria, site, Spak said.
However, “the agreement does not include our Vero cell platform or the Lyme disease or influenza R&D programs,” carried out at the site, she confirmed. “We are continuing to evaluate options for these programs.”
Baxter CFO Bob Hombach had hinted a sale was on the cards during a recent financial call, telling investors Baxter had “talked to a lot of different interested parties and that process is ongoing,” in regards to divesting its two inline vaccines.
Revenues from the two vaccines totalled $110m in Q2, according to Baxter, an increase of 12% year-on-year, driven primarily by strong sales of the FSME vaccine.