AstraZeneca acquiring majority stake in Acerta in $4 billion deal

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Screen Shot 2015-12-17 at 8.04.50 AMAstraZeneca agreed to  buy a  $4 billion majority equity stake in 150-employee  Acerta Pharma, a privately-owned  company based in the Netherlands and the US.

The transaction provides AstraZeneca with access to acalabrutinib a promising treatment for some types of blood cancers and tumors.

The company hedged its bets by stopping short of an outright purchase, but will still shell out billions of dollars to boost its drug development pipeline.

AstraZeneca will acquire 55 percent of the entire issued share capital of Acerta for an upfront payment of $2.5 billion.

Another payment of $1.5 billion will be paid either on receipt of the first regulatory approval for acalabrutinib for any indication in the US, or the end of 2018, depending on which is first.

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The agreement also includes options which, if exercised, provide the opportunity for Acerta shareholders to sell, and AstraZeneca to buy, the remaining 45 percent of shares in Acerta. The options can be exercised at various points in time.

If  acalabrutinib  can be further employed in  B-cell cancers, acalabrutinib could see global sales of $5 billion, an AstraZeneca release noted.

Pascal Soriot, CEO  of AstraZeneca, stated: “The investment is consistent with our focus on long-term growth and reflects the role targeted business development plays in our business model. We are boosting a key area in our comprehensive oncology portfolio with a late-stage, potential best-in-class medicine that could transform treatment for patients across a range of blood cancers.”

News of talks with Acerta led the state’s largest newspaper, The News Journal, to write a story that took note of  concern in certain quarters over the deal and its effect on operations in Delaware.

Delawareans have been on edge after news that Dow and DuPont will merge and split up into three companies. In addition, DuPont announced plans to lop off 10 percent of its workforce.

AstraZeneca has about 2,100 employees in Delaware.

 

 

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