CSL to Buy Vifor Pharma for $11.7 Billion

Australian biotech firm CSL will purchase Swiss pharmaceutical company Vifor Pharma for $11.7 billion in a deal set to close in mid-2022, the companies announced.

The all-cash offer will bring 37 new products into CSL’s fold, including the recently approved Tavneos (avacopan) for severe active anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated vasculitis and Korsuva (difelikefalin), a kappa opioid receptor agonist indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe pruritus associated with chronic kidney disease. 

Especially important in the product lineup is Vifor’s s best-selling Ferinject (ferric carboxymaltose), an iron supplement that accounts for 30 percent of its sales.

In addition to expanding CSL’s portfolio of renal and iron deficiency drugs, the merger will strengthen its existing therapeutic focus on hematology, thrombosis, cardiovascular-metabolic medicine and transplants, the company said.