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London:
British prescription drugs group AstraZeneca, which is finalising a vaccine in opposition to Covid-19, mentioned Saturday it was shopping for US biotech agency Alexion for $39 billion to spice up its work on immunology.
“Alexion has established itself as a leader in complement biology, bringing life-changing benefits to patients with rare diseases,” AstraZeneca chief govt Pascal Soriot mentioned in a press release, saying the 12 months’s greatest deal within the pharma sector.
“We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues at Alexion so that we can together build on our combined expertise in immunology and precision medicines to drive innovation that delivers life-changing medicines for more patients,” he mentioned.
Both boards have agreed to the cash-and-stock deal, which values Alexion at $175 a share, a premium of 45 per cent to the Boston-based firm’s closing value on Friday.
Since taking the helm at AstraZeneca in 2012, Soriot has pushed the group into profitable therapies reminiscent of most cancers therapies, and the Alexion takeover will give it extra heft in areas reminiscent of treating blood issues.
Along with researchers from the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca has developed an efficient Covid-19 vaccine which the UK authorities plans to make use of because the lynchpin of its inoculation drive, after first rolling out one other vaccine by Pfizer/BioNTech.
But approval of the AstraZeneca/Oxford drug has been held up after queries over its preliminary trial outcomes.
On Tuesday, the UK companions grew to become the primary Covid-19 vaccine makers to publish final-stage scientific trial information in a scientific journal, clearing a key hurdle.
The new acquisition is anticipated to shut within the third quarter of 2021, and Alexion shareholders will personal 15 p.c of the mixed firm.
“This transaction marks the start of an exciting new chapter for Alexion,” Alexion chief govt Ludwig Hantson mentioned.
“We bring to AstraZeneca a strong portfolio, innovative rare disease pipeline, a talented global workforce and strong manufacturing capabilities in biologics,” he mentioned.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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