Deals
Pfizer Cancer Pact With Merck Shows Waning Astra Pursuit
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Pfizer Inc. will pay $850 million for rights to a cancer drug being developed by Merck KGaA, giving the U.S. company an experimental treatment of the type that it sought when it made a hostile bid for AstraZeneca Plc.
The agreement also calls for Pfizer to pay as much as $2 billion to Merck if the drug, known as MSB0010718C, meets commercial and regulatory goals, Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck said in a statement today. New York-based Pfizer cut its 2014 earnings forecast to reflect the $850 million upfront payment.