Pfizer to invest up to $500 million in public drug developers

(Reuters) – Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it will invest up to $500 million into publicly traded drug developers to fund their treatment candidates and provide access to the U.S. drugmaker’s scientific expertise.

Pfizer said it will make non-controlling investments in the biotechs with small- to medium-sized market capitalizations, but did not identify them.

The move comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has led drugmakers to delay their clinical trials testing various therapies.

Pfizer said its Breakthrough Growth Initiative program, under which it was making the investment, allows partner companies to access its research, clinical development and manufacturing resources.

(Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)