USA — Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has recently invested US$25 million to acquire a minority stake in Caribou Biosciences, a clinical-stage CRISPR genome-editing biopharmaceutical company.
This move has propelled Caribou’s shares to surge by over 61% during early trading.
Pfizer purchased approximately 4.7 million Caribou shares at US$5.33 per share, representing a premium of around 30% over Caribou’s previous closing price.
Reuters‘ calculation, based on Refinitiv IBES data, indicates that Pfizer’s investment accounts for 7.64% of Caribou’s outstanding shares.
The investment in Caribou Biosciences is part of Pfizer’s strategy to explore partnerships and investments in small biotechnology firms.
Pfizer has been actively pursuing such deals in recent years, leveraging its strong financial position bolstered by sales of its COVID-19 products.
In 2021, Pfizer made an initial upfront investment of US$500 million in Biohaven Pharmaceutical, a migraine drug maker.
This investment included a US$350 million share purchase and subsequently led to Pfizer’s acquisition of Biohaven the following year.
Pfizer also made a US$25 million equity investment in Akero Therapeutics, a company dedicated to developing a drug for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a type of fatty liver disease without approved treatments.
Caribou Biosciences, based in California was co-founded by Jennifer Doudna, a prominent figure in the field of genome editing.
Doudna’s contributions to the development of CRISPR-Cas9, a revolutionary gene-editing tool, earned her the prestigious Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020.
CRISPR, which stands for Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, is a natural defense mechanism found in bacteria that enables them to combat viral infections.
Jennifer Doudna and her collaborator Emmanuelle Charpentier pioneered the application of CRISPR technology for precise and efficient genome editing in a wide range of organisms.
The CRISPR-Cas9 system works by utilizing a guide RNA molecule to target specific sections of DNA, allowing scientists to make precise modifications or edits to the genetic code.
This breakthrough has revolutionized the field of genetic research and holds tremendous potential for various applications in medicine, agriculture, and biotechnology.
By utilizing the natural defense mechanism found in bacteria, Caribou Biosciences seeks to unlock the potential of CRISPR-Cas9 to precisely edit and manipulate genes.
The company’s focus on cell therapies highlights the promise of using CRISPR to develop personalized and targeted treatments for complex diseases, including certain types of cancer.
The proceeds from Pfizer’s investment will be used by Caribou to advance its experimental CAR-T cell therapy, CB-011, which is currently undergoing early-stage clinical trials for patients with a type of blood cancer.
While several major pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca, have experienced double-digit declines in their stock prices over the past three months, Pfizer remains active in the market.
Despite challenges in the COVID-19 vaccine market leading to decreased sales and profits, Pfizer continues its acquisition spree.
After the purchase of Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer recently acquired biotech firm Seagen for a substantial US$43 billion.
For all the latest healthcare industry news from Africa and the World, subscribe to our NEWSLETTER, and YouTube Channel, follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook.
