AstraZeneca Acquires Amolyt Pharma From Sofinnova Partners

AstraZeneca Acquires Amolyt Pharma From Sofinnova Partners

Sofinnova Partners announced on March 14 that its portfolio company, Amolyt Pharma, has entered into a definitive agreement with AstraZeneca for its acquisition. The transaction includes $800 million upfront at deal closing, plus the right for Amolyt Pharma’s shareholders to receive an additional contingent payment of $250 million payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone. Amolyt Pharma is a global, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of therapeutic peptides for rare endocrine and related diseases. Its portfolio includes eneboparatide (AZP-3601), a long-acting PTH1 receptor agonist as a potential treatment for hypoparathyroidism, and... Read More »
AstraZeneca Picks up Vaccine Developer Icosavax for $800 Million

AstraZeneca Picks up Vaccine Developer Icosavax for $800 Million

AstraZeneca announced on December 12 that it is acquiring Icosavax, which develops a shot for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), for $800 million in upfront cash. The deal value equates to $15 per share. Icosavax’s shareholders will also be in line for another $5 in cash per share, if certain regulatory and sale milestones are hit.  Icosavax is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its virus-like particles (VLPs) platform technology to develop vaccines against infectious diseases, with an initial focus on life-threatening respiratory diseases and a vision for combination and pan-respiratory vaccines. The company’s pipeline includes a phase 3-ready protein VLP... Read More »
AstraZeneca Strikes Another Collaboration with Daichi Sankyo

AstraZeneca Strikes Another Collaboration with Daichi Sankyo

AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) has struck a new global development and commercialization agreement with Daiichi Sankyo Company (OTCMKTS: SKYF) that could be worth up to $6 billion. The agreement focuses on DS-1062, Daiichi Sankyo’s proprietary trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), and potential new medicine for the treatment of multiple tumor types.  AstraZeneca will pay $1 billion in staged payments over 24 months, and up to $5 billion for the successful achievement of regulatory approvals and sales-related milestones.  The companies will jointly develop and commercialize DS-1062 worldwide, except in Japan where Daiichi Sankyo will maintain... Read More »
AstraZeneca Divests More of Seroquel

AstraZeneca Divests More of Seroquel

Piece by piece, AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) continues to divest the rights of Seroquel and Seroquel XR (Seroquel), a prescription drug for schizophrenia and bipolar, in various major markets. It used to be a big seller for the pharmaceutical giant over the years but has since declined considerably after the FDA approved a generic version of the drug in May 2017. In 2017, Seroquel recorded sales of $332 million, representing a year-over-year decline of 55%. As a result, AstraZeneca has found buyers to take the drug off their portfolio. However, it also gives AstraZeneca the opportunity to focus on its three main therapy areas of oncology, cardiovascular, renal & metabolism, and respiratory.... Read More »
Swedish Orphan Drug Maker Moves into the U.S.

Swedish Orphan Drug Maker Moves into the U.S.

Ready or not, here comes Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB (STO: SOBI). The company recently paid $1.5 billion to AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) in a double-sided deal. First, it’s acquiring the perpetual U.S. rights to Synagis (palivizumab), which prevents serious lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) caused by FSV in high-risk infants. The other side of the deal gives SOBI participation in 50% of the future earnings of AstraZeneca’s drug candidate MEDI8897, which it has been jointly developing with Sanofi Pasteur (NYSE: SNY) since March 2017. MEDI8897 is a follow-on candidate to Synagis and a monoclonal antibody (mAb) being investigated for the prevention of LRTI caused by RSV. Sobi... Read More »