- AstraZeneca headquarters in London.
AstraZeneca is betting on the success of a promising drug used to treat gout in its merger deal for Ardea Biosciences, Inc. AstraZeneca will acquire Ardea, a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on the development of small-molecule therapeutics. Furthest along in Ardea’s pipeline is lesinurad, now in Phase III development as a potential treatment for the chronic management of hyperuricaemia in patients with gout.
AstraZeneca has research, manufacturing and administrative operations in northern Delaware. The company has been looking for promising drugs to fill its pipeline as its largest sellers move toward generic status.
Terms call for AstraZeneca to acquire Ardea for $32 per share or about $1.26 billion, including existing cash. This represents a premium on the value of Ardea’s stock of 50 percent.
Lesinurad works on cells of the kidney that regulate uric acid as a once-daily treatment for patients with gout. Lesinurad is being studied in an ongoing Phase III clinical development as an add on treatment. Filings for a New Drug Application (NDA) in the US and a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) in the EU are planned for the first half of 2014, with expansion to other nations.“This attractive Phase III program is an excellent opportunity to leverage AstraZeneca’s global specialty and primary care sales and marketing capabilities,” said David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca. “The Ardea team has done a great job developing lesinurad along with a promising next-generation gout program. These compounds have real potential to benefit patients.”
The deal is subject to approval by Ardea’s shareholders and other conditions.
Ardea shareholders representing about 30 percent of the current total shares outstanding have entered into a voting agreement with AstraZeneca to vote in favour of the transaction.
Gout is a disease caused by abnormally high levels of uric acid in the blood stream. This leads to the formation of painful, needle-like uric acid crystals in and around the connective tissue of the joints and in the kidneys.
It is estimated that there were about 14.7 million diagnosed prevalent cases of chronic gout in the major markets in 2009. That number is expected to grow to 16.6 million in 2019.
