Bristol Myers to buy cancer therapy company in $4.1 billion deal

BY SARAH FORTINSKY - 12/26/23 

Credit: Bristol Myers Squibb

Bristol Myers Squibb on Tuesday announced a deal to acquire RayzeBio in an effort to expand the drugmaker’s cancer treatment offerings.

The acquisition was for a total equity value of about $4.1 billion, at $62.50 per share.

RayzeBio, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical therapeutics (RPT) company, has several cancer treatments under development, specifically ones targeting the treatment of solid tumors, including gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), small cell lung cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and other cancers, according to a press release.

The lead program, RYZ101, is undergoing clinical trials, and the press release said the interim results of an earlier phase of the trial suggested promising results.

“This transaction enhances our increasingly diversified oncology portfolio by bringing a differentiated platform and pipeline, and further strengthens our growth opportunities in the back half of the decade and beyond,” Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Christopher Boerner said in the press release.

“Radiopharmaceutical therapeutics are already transforming cancer care, and RayzeBio is at the forefront of pioneering the application of this novel modality. We look forward to supporting and accelerating RayzeBio’s preclinical and clinical programs and advancing its highly innovative radiopharmaceutical platform,” he added.

Samit Hirawat, the executive vice president and chief medical officer for drug development at Bristol Myers Squibb, described the acquisition as one that will “establish Bristol Myers Squibb’s presence in one of the most promising and fastest-growing new modalities for the treatment of patients with solid tumors — delivering radioactive payloads to cancer cells in a targeted manner.”

Bristol Myers Squibb will also acquire RayzeBio’s new manufacturing facility in Indianapolis, which is under construction but is expected to begin GMP drug production in the first half of 2024.

RayzeBio CEO and President Ken Song lauded the acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb, which Song described as “the ideal partner for RayzeBio at this important moment in our evolution,” noting the company’s “well-established presence in oncology and deep expertise in developing, commercializing and manufacturing treatments on a global scale.”

“Despite therapeutic advances in recent years, the need for more effective treatments in solid tumors persists, and radiopharmaceutical therapeutics are positioned to be an important next wave of innovation in oncology therapy,” Song said. “I am excited to see what our team achieves as part of Bristol Myers Squibb.”