AstraZeneca to expand in immunology with $39 billion acquisition of Alexion

UK’s AstraZeneca will buy US drugmaker Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion to diversify from its cancer business to rare-disease and immunology drugs.

AstraZeneca would give Alexion shareholders $60 in cash and about $115 worth of equity per share, either in AstraZeneca’s dollar-denominated American Depositary Shares or in UK-traded ordinary shares.

Alexion shares closed at around $121 apiece on Friday.

According to AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot, the acquisition of Alexion would open up a tremendous opportunity for AstraZeneca to accelerate its development in immunology, while getting into a new segment of disease, physicians, and patients they haven's covered so far.

Soliris, Alexion’s best-selling drug, is used against a range of rare immune-disorders. Among those is paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), which causes anemia and blood clots.

Soliris' revenue rose 3.6 percent in the first nine months to $3 billion.
An improved version of Soliris called Ultomiris has bigger market potential, expecting more growth by introducing rare-disease treatments to China and other emerging markets.

Both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

AstraZeneca has a planned capital increase of about $25 billion after the deal closure, driven by the stellar growth of new cancer drugs.

Last week, AstraZeneca was conducting further research to confirm whether its COVID-19 vaccine could be 90 percent effective, potentially slowing its rollout. Meanwhile, a rival vaccine from Pfizer was launched in the UK and approved for use in the US.

AstraZeneca was once seen as leading the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine but has fallen behind Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, as well as Moderna, whose vaccines have shown greater efficacy in late-stage clinical trials.