AstraZeneca has completed its $1.26 billion acquisition of San Diego-based drug development company, Ardea Biosciences, Inc. The merger was approved by Ardea’s stockholders.
Each outstanding share of Ardea common stock was canceled and converted into the right to receive $32 in cash, Shares of Ardea common stock ceased trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.
The acquisition strengthens AstraZeneca’s late-stage pipeline with the addition of lesinurad1., a potential treatment for gout. Gout is a kind of arthritis that occurs when uric acid builds up in blood and causes joint inflammation.
Diet and an aging population are factors in the increasing occurrence of gout.
Another drug in development by Ardea, under a global licensing agreement with Bayer, targets cancer.
AstraZeneca has been working to strengthen its drug pipeline as patents expire for many of its best selling pharmaceuticals.
AstraZeneca has headquarters and manufacturing operations in northern Delaware. The company is based in London.
