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The pharma giant said CinCor’s drug could be combined with its own product – Farxiga – to help treat issues such as chronic kidney disease.
AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire US biotech CinCor Pharma in a deal worth up to $1.8bn, in order to expand its pipeline of heart and kidney drugs.
The purchase includes a cash payment of $1.3bn for outstanding shares, which AstraZeneca said is a 121pc premium on CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January.
The pharma giant will also acquire the cash and marketable securities on CinCor’s balance sheet, which totalled roughly $522m as of 30 September 2022.
CinCor has been developing a new drug to help lower blood pressure and target treatment-resistant hypertension. The drug – called Baxdrostat – is designed to inhibit aldosterone, a hormone that helps to control the balance of water and salts in the body and can cause blood pressure issues if it builds up in the body.
AstraZeneca executive VP for biopharmaceuticals R&D Mene Pangalos said Baxdrostat will strengthen the company’s pipeline for treating heart- and kidney-related diseases.
The company said Cincor’s drug could also be combined with Farxiga, AstraZeneca’s drug for preventing cardiorenal diseases.
“Excess levels of aldosterone are associated with hypertension and several cardiorenal diseases, including chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease and being able to effectively reduce this would offer a much-needed treatment option for these patients,” Pangalos said.
CinCor CEO Marc de Garidel hopes the acquisition will help accelerate the development timeline of Baxdrostat and expand “the breadth of benefits” patients could get from the drug.
“CinCor is committed to ensuring a smooth transition of the development responsibilities to AstraZeneca once the acquisition is consummated,” de Garidel said.
As part of the transaction, AstraZeneca said it will offer CinCor investors $10 per share in cash, on the condition that Baxdrostat gets submitted for regulatory approval. The companies expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2023.
Last year, AstraZeneca announced plans to invest €65m to expand its Irish manufacturing and R&D operations. This followed an announcement in 2021 that the multinational biopharma firm was making a major investment in a new manufacturing facility in Dublin.
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