US drug major Pfizer on Monday shelved its $ 117-billion takeover bid of AstraZenaca on the day of expiry of the offer as the British pharmaceutical company remained firm in opposing the deal.
"Following the AstraZeneca board’s rejection of the proposal, Pfizer announces that it does not intend to make an offer for AstraZeneca," the company said in a statement.
Commenting on the development, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Ian Read said: "We continue to believe that our final proposal was compelling and represented full value for AstraZeneca based on the information that was available to us."