As pharmas like Eli Lilly and Roche bolster their biotech offerings, Pfizer is snuffing out its program designed to incubate new innovations from select companies, dubbed Pfizer Ignite.
The Ignite business unit is currently in the process of winding down, according to Pfizer’s annual report (PDF). The decision to shutter the business was made last year, according to the report. It was not mentioned in the company’s third-quarter report (PDF) filed in November, suggesting the move was recent.
Through the program, Pfizer provided select biotechs aligned with its therapeutic areas of focus with strategic guidance and end-to-end R&D services. The pharma made its resources available to companies through various deal structures, such as fees for service, strategic rights or equity pacts.
According to its website, the pharma tried to work with platform biotechs that hold the potential to “fuel multiple products.” In the past few years, Pfizer Ignite had partnered with Acepodia, which touts an antibody-cell conjugate (ACC) platform, and fibrosis-focused Mediar Therapeutics.
Now, Pfizer said it is working closely with its biotech partners to “ensure continuity and the successful transition of work,” according to the annual report.
As of publication, Pfizer has not responded to Fierce’s questions about potential layoffs associated with the closing or further context behind the decision.
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Ignite was one of Pfizer’s three operating segments used to manage global commercial operations, according to the company. The other two are Biopharma—which is based around the discovery, development, manufacturing, marketing, sale and distribution of products—and PC1, which focuses on contract development and supplying specialty active pharma ingredients.
Last year, Pfizer Ignite brought in $41 million in revenue for the big pharma, making up less than 1% of the company’s total $62.5 billion. The unit’s revenue sank by 50% from $82 million the year prior.
Pfizer’s walk back follows moves from Lilly and Roche bolstering their investment in biotech development, with both pharmas recently putting down hundreds of millions to boost biopharma activity in South Korea. Lilly’s investment is paired with the opening of another Lilly Gateway Labs, the pharma’s model that provides certain biotechs with access to state-of-the-art lab space and personalized scientific expertise.