Pfizer will spend $43 billion to acquire Seagen

By TOM MURPHY and MICHELLE CHAPMAN
AP Business Writers

Pfizer will spend about $43 billion to buy Seagen and broaden its reach into cancer treatments, the pharmaceutical giant said Monday. Bothell, Washington-based Seagen Inc. is a biotech drug developer. Its key products use monoclonal antibodies that aim to bind to the surface of a tumor cell to deliver a cancer-killing agent while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. Monoclonal antibodies are lab-made proteins delivered mostly by IV at an infusion center, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Seagen’s top seller, Adcetris, treats lymph system cancers. It brought in $839 million in sales last year, a 19% increase over the previous year.