Seller of cancer drug developed at UCLA to be bought over
By April Hoang
Aug. 22, 2016 8:16 p.m.
A pharmaceutical company will be purchasing the seller of Xtandi, a cancer treatment developed by UCLA, for $14 billion.
Pfizer Inc. announced Monday that it will buy Medivation Inc., a biopharmaceutical company that develops disease treatments. Medivation sells Xtandi at $129,000 for a year’s supply.
The drug has been a lucrative invention for the UC, generating more than $33 million for the university in 2014.
Xtandi is used to treat advanced metastatic prostate cancer, a type of prostate cancer that spreads throughout the body. The drug is an antiandrogen hormone therapy, also known as enzalutamide, according to Xtandi’s website. It blocks the connection between the androgenic hormones and their receptors, which may slow the tumor’s growth.
UCLA licensed Xtandi to Medivation in 2005, and then sold its royalty interest in March to Royalty Pharma, a pharmaceutical company. UCLA received $520 million from Royalty Pharma for the deal.
The university was not involved in the deal between Medivation and Pfizer, said UCLA Health spokesperson Phil Hampton.
Pfizer officials said they hope the new acquisition will help advance Pfizer’s standing in the field of oncology, according to a Pfizer press release. Directors from both Pfizer and Medivation unanimously approved the deal, which is expected to finalize at the end of 2016.
