Pfizer takes full control of Bamboo Therapeutics, aiming for gene therapy leadership

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) says it has acquired the 78% of privately-held biotech firm Bamboo Therapeutics which it did not already own, in a transaction that could cost the US pharma giant as much as $645 million.

Bamboo is focused on developing gene therapies for the potential treatment of patients with certain rare diseases related to neuromuscular conditions and those affecting the central nervous system.

This acquisition significantly expands Pfizer’s expertise in gene therapy by providing it with a clinical and several pre-clinical assets that complement the company’s rare disease portfolio, an advanced recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector design and production technology, and a fully functional Phase I/II gene therapy manufacturing facility that Bamboo acquired from the University of North Carolina earlier this year.