Pfizer agrees to invest more than $95M to buy stake in French vaccines company Valneva
Pfizer will pay Valneva tiered royalties ranging from 14% to 22%
Pfizer has agreed to invest 90.5 million Euros, or $95.24 million, to buy an 8.1% stake in French vaccine company Valneva as the two companies revealed advancements in their partnership to stop Lyme disease.
The stake in Valneva, which is also working on a coronavirus vaccine, will be purchased for 9.49 Euros, or $9.99, per share, through a reserved capital increase.
Pfizer logo is seen on a technician's jacket.
The per-share purchase price was reached based on the average closing price of the "Company’s Shares on Euronext Paris during the 10 trading days preceding the date of the Equity Subscription Agreement," the companies said in press release. Shares in Valneva increased by 14.5% in early session trading to 9.09 euros.
Valneva is expected to use the proceeds from Pfizer’s $95 million investment to support its Phase 3 development contribution to the Lyme disease program.
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It was announced on April 26, 2022, that Pfizer plans to initiate the Phase 3 study of Lyme disease vaccine candidate VLA15 in the third quarter of 2022.
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An employee draws up a syringe with a Pfizer vaccine. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP / AP Newsroom)
Pfizer and Valneva also updated the terms of their collaboration and license agreement that they announced in April 2020 for VLA15.
Valneva will now fund 40% of the remaining shared development costs, an increase over the 30% from the initial agreement.
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Pfizer logo seen on the facade of an office building in Shinjuku area of Tokyo. (Cezary Kowalski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Pfizer will pay Valneva tiered royalties ranging from 14% to 22% compared to 19% in the prior agreement. The royalties will also be complemented by up to $100 million in milestones payable to Valneva based on cumulative sales.
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"Pfizer's investment in Valneva highlights the quality of the work that we’ve done together over the past two years and is a strong recognition of Valneva's vaccine expertise," Valneva chief executive Thomas Lingelbach said in the press release. "This subscription agreement will contribute to our investment in the Phase 3 study while limiting the impact on our cash position."