By Catherine Reynolds
Investing.com -- Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARNA) shares jumped 82% on Monday after Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE) announced plans to buy the drug developer for $6.7 billion.
The move was approved unanimously by the boards of both companies.
Pfizer said it expects to use cash on hand to finance the deal for Arena, which develops immune-inflammatory disease therapies.
Mike Gladstone, global president and general manager of Pfizer, said that the merged company planned to accelerate the clinical development of etrasimod, a therapy for the treatment of gastrointestinal and dermatological diseases.
“The proposed acquisition of Arena complements our capabilities and expertise in Inflammation and Immunology,” Gladstone said.