Global Blood Therapeutics
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Global Blood Therapeutics was a US-based biopharmaceutical company focused on sickle cell disease. Its lead product was Oxbryta (voxelotor), an oral therapy that inhibits sickle hemoglobin polymerization and received accelerated FDA approval in 2019. The company also advanced pipeline candidates including inclacumab and GBT601. In October 2022 Pfizer acquired the company for about $5.4 billion at $68.50 per share, making Oxbryta the centerpiece of its rare hematology portfolio.
02 / Global Blood Therapeutics FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Global Blood Therapeutics was not a business failure: Pfizer acquired it for about $5.4 billion in October 2022, a successful exit for shareholders. The commercial failure came after the acquisition. In September 2024 Pfizer voluntarily withdrew Oxbryta from all markets worldwide after clinical data suggested an imbalance in vaso-occlusive crises and fatal events, discontinued all voxelotor trials and access programs, and ended the drug that had justified the $5.4 billion purchase.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Oxbryta approved
Oxbryta (voxelotor) received accelerated FDA approval for the treatment of sickle cell disease.
- Acquired by Pfizer
Pfizer announced the acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics for $68.50 per share in cash, an enterprise value of about $5.4 billion, and closed the deal on October 5, 2022.
- Oxbryta withdrawn
On September 26, 2024 Pfizer voluntarily withdrew all lots of Oxbryta from worldwide markets and discontinued all voxelotor clinical trials and expanded access programs after data suggested an imbalance in vaso-occlusive crises and fatal events.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
In August 2022 Pfizer agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Global Blood Therapeutics for $68.50 per share in cash, an enterprise value of about $5.4 billion.
- 02
The acquisition closed on October 5, 2022, with Oxbryta positioned as the centerpiece of Pfizer's rare hematology portfolio.
- 03
Oxbryta generated about $328 million in global sales for Pfizer in 2023.
- 04
On September 26, 2024, Pfizer voluntarily withdrew all lots of Oxbryta from worldwide markets after clinical data suggested an imbalance in vaso-occlusive crises and fatal events, and discontinued all voxelotor clinical trials and expanded access programs.
- 05
Pfizer said the withdrawal would not affect its 2024 financial guidance.