Pharmaceutical conglomerate Pfizer acquired US-based biopharmaceutical company Excaliard yesterday for an undisclosed amount yesterday in a transaction expected to close before the end of the year.
Excaliard’s only significant financing since its 2006 founding was a $15.5m series A round in November 2007, by biomedical company Isis Pharmaceuticals and venture capital firms Alta Partners, ProQuest Investments and RiverVest Venture Partners.
Pfizer will pay for the acquisition via a combination of an upfront payment with a series of milestone payments to potentially follow. Isis, having signed an agreement with Excaliard concerning the development and commercialisation of certain drugs, will receive a share of both the upfront and the milestone payments.
Mikael Dolsten, president of worldwide research and development for Pfizer, said: "The acquisition of Excaliard is part of our corporate research and development strategy to actively complement our robust internal project pipeline with innovative and differentiated drugs from biotech partners."
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