Pfizer to buy BioRexis for diabetes candidate

The world's largest drugmaker, USA-headquartered Pfizer, says that it has entered into an agreement to acquire BioRexis Pharmaceutical, a privately-held Pennsylvania-based company with a number of diabetes candidates and a novel technology platform for developing new protein drug candidates. Financial terms of the deal, news of which helped Pfizer's share price advance 1.3% to $26.59 on February 1, were not disclosed.

"Through this acquisition, we are investing in a company with an exciting new technology and potential new product candidates in diabetes," said Edmund Harrigan, senior vice president, worldwide licensing and new business development at Pfizer. "This is an example of how we are pursuing compelling science outside our walls in order to deliver new health care solutions to customers and patients," he noted.

"The acquisition is a further step in Pfizer's strategy to accelerate our business development and licensing activity while ensuring appropriate operational and financial discipline," added David Shedlarz, vice chairman of Pfizer, pointing out that "our strategy is focused on complementing Pfizer's current portfolio of medicines and acquiring technologies that can be applied to strengthen and add value to our portfolio."