Revenge Of The Bacteria Killers
Matthew Herper, 06.16.05, 9:30 AM ET
§Pfizer
Tear Sheet Chart News
§
NEW YORK - Big pharma has returned to a market it once abandoned: antibiotics.
Today, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) has announced a deal to acquire Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MICU - news - people ), one of several biotech companies leading in the field of antibiotic research, for $1.9 billion in cash. At almost the same time, Wyeth (nyse: WYE - news - people ) announced it has received approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that it has touted as a potential blockbuster.
The deal is one signal of a big reversal in the drug business. Over the past few decades, many of the biggest drug firms, including Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ), Wyeth and Roche, seemed to back away from antibiotic development, closing plants and shuttering programs. But that was before a new generation of bacteria and fungi resistant to existing drugs started wreaking havoc in hospitals--creating a new, potentially lucrative market. Some resistant bugs have slipped out from hospitals into the community. One even infected a major football team.
Two years ago, Pfizer Chief Executive Henry A. "Hank" McKinnell told us, "There are a number of organisms where we're one antibiotic away from a worldwide disaster" (see: "Bug Wars").
Matthew Herper, 06.16.05, 9:30 AM ET
§Pfizer
Tear Sheet Chart News
§
NEW YORK - Big pharma has returned to a market it once abandoned: antibiotics.
Today, Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) has announced a deal to acquire Vicuron Pharmaceuticals (nasdaq: MICU - news - people ), one of several biotech companies leading in the field of antibiotic research, for $1.9 billion in cash. At almost the same time, Wyeth (nyse: WYE - news - people ) announced it has received approval for Tygacil, a new antibiotic that it has touted as a potential blockbuster.
The deal is one signal of a big reversal in the drug business. Over the past few decades, many of the biggest drug firms, including Eli Lilly (nyse: LLY - news - people ), Wyeth and Roche, seemed to back away from antibiotic development, closing plants and shuttering programs. But that was before a new generation of bacteria and fungi resistant to existing drugs started wreaking havoc in hospitals--creating a new, potentially lucrative market. Some resistant bugs have slipped out from hospitals into the community. One even infected a major football team.
Two years ago, Pfizer Chief Executive Henry A. "Hank" McKinnell told us, "There are a number of organisms where we're one antibiotic away from a worldwide disaster" (see: "Bug Wars").
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