Why Pfizer Stock Is Rising Today

Shares of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) were rising 2.5% as of 11:18 a.m. ET on Thursday while the major market indexes were declining. The gain came after the big drugmaker announced plans to buy privately held ReViral for up to $525 million.

Investors appeared to view the acquisition of ReViral as a great fit for Pfizer. ReViral's pipeline features sisunatovir, an experimental oral therapy for treating respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. ReViral is currently evaluating sisunatovir in two phase 2 studies targeting RSV in adults and infants.

Pfizer hopes to win regulatory approvals in the not-too-distant future for its RSV vaccine candidate PF-06928316. The experimental vaccine is in late-stage testing. Annaliesa Anderson, chief scientific officer for Pfizer's bacterial vaccines and hospital unit, said, "The proposed acquisition of ReViral's pipeline of therapeutic candidates is complementary to our efforts to advance the first vaccine candidate to help protect against this harmful disease."

Source Fool.com