AstraZeneca PLC's rare disease unit, Alexion, has unveiled a US$1bn agreement to acquire Pfizer's early-stage gene therapy portfolio, a strategic move designed to bolster its footprint in the burgeoning field of genomic medicine.
The deal, which was announced alongside the FTSE 100 leader's half-year results, is expected to be concluded in the third quarter and bring Alexion a number of preclinical programmes and technologies, alongside a set of adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids vital for gene therapy and editing.
The purchase is a significant step forward for Alexion and AstraZeneca in their bid to lead the genomic medicine industry.
This field focuses on developing treatments for a host of rare and debilitating diseases, around 80% of which are believed to be caused by genetic mutations.
The acquisition is also set to bring additional talent from Pfizer, helping to build on Alexion and AstraZeneca's combined capabilities in the genomic medicine space. This follows the recent purchase of LogicBio last October for a comparatively modest US$68mln.
Marc Dunoyer, CEO of Alexion, said: "Today's announcement represents another major step forward in Alexion and AstraZeneca's ambition to be an industry leader in genomic medicine, which has the potential to be transformative and even curative for patients with devastating diseases.
"We look forward to continuing our work to develop enhanced platforms and technologies with broad therapeutic applications while integrating best-in-class expertise to accelerate promising therapeutics into the clinic."
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker also announced better-than-expected profits and sales in the second quarter as a strong performance of its blockbuster cancer drugs helped offset the loss of COVID-19 vaccine sales.
Adjusted profit of US$2.15 per share was up 25% on a year ago and above the US$1.98 per share average analyst forecast.
Total revenue in the quarter was US$11.4bn, up 6% and beating estimates of US$10.97bn.
The firm held its guidance for 2023 total revenue and core EPS.
The shares rose over 3% to 11,064p in early trading on Friday.