Pfizer announced that it intends to buy Canadian clinical stage immuno-oncology developer Trillium Therapeutics in a $2.26 billion deal to strengthen its arsenal of blood cancer therapies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire all outstanding shares of Trillium not already owned by Pfizer for an implied equity value of $2.26 billion, or $18.50 per share, in cash.
Pfizer had previously invested $25 million in Trillium back in September 2020, as part of the Pfizer Breakthrough Growth Initiative (PBGI) — a program created to support clinical-stage biotechnology companies. At the same time, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Pfizer’s Oncology Research & Development Group, Jeff Settleman, joined Trillium’s Scientific Advisory Board.
Trillium’s portfolio includes biologics that are designed to enhance the ability of patients’ innate immune system to detect and destroy cancer cells. Its two lead molecules, TTI-622 and TTI-621 — which Pfizer has referred to as "potentially best-in-class molecules" — block the signal-regulatory protein α (SIRPα)–CD47 axis, which is emerging as a key immune checkpoint in hematological malignancies. TTI-622 and TTI-621 are novel SIRPα-Fc fusion proteins that are currently in Phase 1b/2 development across several indications, with a focus on hematological malignancies.
Read the press release