Drug maker Pfizer says it will buy biopharmaceutical company Encysive Pharmaceuticalsfor about $195 million to strengthen its portfolio in products treating high blood pressure, and Encysive shares blasted higher on the news.
Pfizer will make a $2.35-per-share cash tender offer for Encysive.
Shares of the smaller drug company launched more than 100 percent higher Wednesday.
The acquisition would give Pfizer the rights to Thelin, an oral drug approved in several European Union countries that treats pulmonary arterial hypertension, which refers to high blood pressure in the pulmonary artery.
Pfizer says it plans a late-stage trial of Thelin in the United States to obtain approval for the drug by the Food and Drug Administration.
Encysive's board of directors unanimously has approved the agreement and recommended its stockholders accept the offer and tender their shares.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.