A Bristol Myers Squibb facility in Cambridge, Mass., on May 20, 2021.BRIAN SNYDER/Reuters
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. BMY-N said on Tuesday it would buy RayzeBio Inc. RYZB-Q for about US$4.1-billion to bolster its cancer drug business, marking the second multibillion dollar deal struck by the drug maker in less than a week.
Bristol Myers had announced a US$14-billion buyout of schizophrenia drug developer Karuna Therapeutics Inc. on Friday, nearly two months after newly-appointed chief executive Chris Boerner officially took the helm at the drug maker.
Recent deals show Bristol’s urgency to bring in more products, said William Blair analyst Matt Phipps, as some of the drug maker’s older therapies are set to face a loss of patent protection later this decade.
With the RayzeBio deal, Bristol gains a late-stage targeted radiopharma therapy, RYZ101, that acts like a “canon ball” to kill cancer cells by delivering radioactive particles to the tumorous tissue or tumor-associated cells.
Bristol also gains access to RayzeBio’s manufacturing site in Indianapolis, Ind.
Bristol will pay US$62.50 for each share of RayzeBio in cash, representing a premium of 104 per cent to the stock’s last close.
RayzeBio shares, which had risen 27 per cent since their market debut in September, closed at US$61.40. Shares of Bristol were down 1.6 per cent.
“There’s still a lot of … firepower in the large pharma balance sheets and companies that have drugs that are going to lose exclusivity,” said Mr. Phipps, referring to a spree of acquisitions in the biotech sector in recent weeks.
AbbVie has struck two multibillion dollar deals since November, while AstraZeneca PLC on Tuesday said it will buy China’s Gracell Biotechnologies Inc. for up to US$1.2-billion.
In October, Bristol announced an up to US$5.8-billion deal to buy cancer drug maker Mirati Therapeutics Inc., while Eli Lilly had said it will buy radiopharmaceutical firm Point Biopharma Corp. for US$1.4-billion.