Pfizer hands back Bavencio rights as Seagen acquisition nears

27 March 2023

Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) has regained exclusive worldwide rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize its checkpoint blocker Bavencio (avelumab).

The news comes just a couple of weeks after erstwhile co-developer Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) announced plans to buy antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) company Seagen (Nasdaq: SGEN), at a price of $43 billion.

That acquisition was likely to require the divestment of Pfizer’s interests in Bavencio in order to satisfy antitrust bodies, given the overlap with Seagen’s Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), a first-in-class ADC approved in bladder cancer.

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