AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN) shares rose 2.4% to 10,868p after its Alexion rare disease unit sealed a deal to buy a portfolio of Pfizer's early-stage drugs for up to US$1 billion to boost its footprint in the burgeoning field of genomic medicine.
As well as buying and licensing the rare disease gene therapy assets, Alexion has agreed to pay royalties based on levels of potential future sales.
Several of Pfizer's genomic specialists will move over to continue their work on the drugs for Alexion.
The largest company on the FTSE 100 said the new additions deepen the group's existing expertise in genomic medicine, a field that focuses on developing treatments for many rare and debilitating diseases, around 80% of which are believed to be caused by genetic mutations.
After AstraZeneca bought Alexion for US$27.5 billion in 2021 it added LogicBio last October for US$68 million, bringing in what it called a "pioneering" genomic medicine company with unique technology, an experienced rare disease R&D team and expertise in pre-clinical development.
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