Pfizer to acquire Anacor

Abstract

Just a month after abandoning its merger with Allergan, Pfizer will pay roughly $5.2 billion to acquire Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a biotech firm that specializes in developing boron-containing small-molecule therapeutics. Anacor already has one approved drug, the antifungal Kerydin, but the centerpiece of the acquisition is crisaborole, a topical treatment for eczema that is currently under FDA review. Because a novel eczema treatment has not been approved in more than 15 years, crisaborole could deliver peak annual sales of $2 billion or more, Pfizer says. It expects FDA to give crisaborole the green light by January. Founded in 2002, Anacor seeks to take advantage of boron’s empty p orbital, which can form coordinate covalent bonds, a feature that stabilizes a drug’s interaction with its target. For Pfizer, the deal is its first after its attempt to buy Allergan for $160 billion. Pfizer dropped the merger last month after an unfavorable tax