British vaccine company AstraZaneca has agreed to buy US drug company Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion. It is its biggest-ever deal. As a diversification effort from the thriving cancer drug business and betting on rare disease drugs and immunology.
The deal came a week after AstraZeneca said it was carrying out further research. In order to determine whether its Covid-19 vaccine could be 90% effective. So, this could potentially slow down the launch. Meanwhile, the competitor vaccine, Pfizer, has been launched in the UK and approved for use in the United States.
Quoting Reuters on Sunday (12/13/2020), the British company said on Saturday, Alexion shareholders would receive $60 in cash. Moreover, it was about $ 115 in equity per share.
Alexion’s value is US $ 121 per share
Based on the reference average ADR price of US $ 54.14. It means a total price of US $ 175 per share. Alexion shares closed at around US $ 121 per share on Friday.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for us to accelerate our development in the field of immunology. then, entering a new segment of disease, a new segment of medical personnel and patients that we have not been able to handle so far,” AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot told the media. .
Alexion’s best-selling drug, Soliris, is used to treat a variety of rare immune disorders. It’s including paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), which causes anemia and blood clots, and its income increased 3.6% in the first nine months to US $ 3 billion.
Astra hopes the improved version of Soliris called Ultomiris has a bigger market potential. They expect more growth from rare types of disease drugs to the Chinese market and other emerging markets.
The British company said the boards of both companies have approved a deal it hopes to close in the third quarter of 2021.
AstraZeneca has been seen leading the race to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, but is lagging behind Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, as well as Moderna, whose injections have shown more efficacy. major in late stage clinical trials.
With plans to raise around US $ 25 billion in capital after the deal closes, Soriot is looking to capitalize on the strong advancement of Astra’s stock, driven by the rapid growth of new cancer drugs.
Its stock has risen about 70% over the past three years. Previously, the company also withdrew some of the company’s cash on a much smaller scale of US $ 3.5 billion last year to fund the purchase of the rights to the cancer drug Enhertu from Daiichi Sankyo.
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