Pfizer agrees Excaliard Pharmaceuticals takeover

Pfizer has announced that it has agreed a deal to acquire Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company.

An undisclosed fee has been agreed to purchase Excaliard and the transaction is expected to be completed before the end of the year, with both an upfront payment and milestone fees set to be paid.

Excaliard is focused on the development of novel drugs for the treatment of skin fibrosis, also known as skin scarring, which is a common health issue affecting patients who have undergone surgery.

Its lead product, EXC 001, disrupts fibrosis by inhibiting expression of connective tissue growth factor, with phase II clinical trials showing its potential benefits in reducing scarring severity.

Mikael Dolsten, president for worldwide research and development at Pfizer, said: "The acquisition of Excaliard is part of our corporate research and development strategy to actively complement our robust internal project pipeline with innovative and differentiated drugs from biotech partners."

This comes after the firm announced earlier this week that its new rheumatoid arthritis drug tofacitinib has been accepted for European Medicines Agency review.