PFIZER STRENGTHENS DIABETES PIPELINE WITH ACQUISITION

Pfizer has entered into an agreement to acquire BioRexis Pharmaceutical, a privately held biopharmaceutical company with a number of diabetes candidates and a novel technology platform for developing new protein drug candidates. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Through this acquisition, we are investing in a company with an exciting new technology and potential new product candidates in diabetes," Edmund Harrigan, senior vice president of worldwide licensing and new business development for Pfizer, said.

BioRexis is developing long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonists for the potential treatment of patients with Type 2 diabetes. Early studies with these compounds support their potential to advance new treatment options for this disease, according to the companies.

BioRexis has developed proprietary protein engineering technologies based on human transferrin that provide novel therapeutic agents with substantially longer duration of action than synthetic peptides. This new platform supports Pfizer's commitment to develop novel protein therapeutic agents where improved patient tolerability will lead to greater patient compliance, Pfizer said.

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act, and is expected to close during the first or second quarter of this year.