Pfizer invests in gene therapy

Article Excerpt

PFIZER INC. $39 (New York symbol PFE; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 5.6 billion; Market cap: $218.4 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.1; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.pfizer.com) has acquired 15% of Vivet Therapeutics for $51 million. Based in France, privately held Vivet is developing a treatment for Wilson disease, a liver disorder that causes copper to build up in the body. That treatment involves injecting new DNA into the body to correct a single faulty gene. This investment should help Pfizer with its other gene-based therapies. The company also has an option to buy the remaining 85% of Vivet for $584.8 million. Pfizer is a buy. buy…