AstraZeneca closes $2M precision med company buy

AstraZeneca headquarters in Wilmington | DBT FILE PHOTO

WILMINGTON — AstraZeneca has recently completed a $2.4 billion deal for a California-based pharmaceutical company that gives the company a boost in next-generation cancer treatments.

The deal closed on June 5 and grants AstraZeneca an entry into precision medicine via Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. radioconjugates, or a drug that combines a radioactive isotope with a targeting agent — like antibodies, peptides or small molecules —  that seeks cancer cells. Fusion’s lead program is FPI-226, a small molecule targeting prostate cancers with a resistant strain.

FPI-226, which is now in AstraZeneca’s portfolio, is now in the second clinical trials.

“Between 30 and 50% of patients with cancer today receive radiotherapy at some point during treatment, and the acquisition of Fusion furthers our ambition to transform this aspect of care with next-generation radioconjugates,” AstraZeneca Executive Vice President of Oncology R&D Susan Galbraith said.

“Together with Fusion, we have an opportunity to accelerate the development of FPI-2265 as a potential new treatment for prostate cancer and to harness their innovative actinium-based platform to develop radioconjugates as foundational regimens,” she added.

The deal also follows a series of deals signed by AstraZeneca, including a $1 billion buy last winter for cell therapy firm Gracell Biotechnologies. 

Under the terms of agreement, AstraZeneca has acquired all of Fusion’s shares at a price of $21 per share, and a contingent value of $3 per share,  if a regulatory milestone is met in 2029. In all, the deal is valued at $2.4 billion.

AstraZeneca’s oncology sales were $17.15 billion in 2023, or roughly one-third of its total revenue. The company will also use the Fusion acquisition to strengthen its foothold in Canada, joining its 76,000 employees worldwide. AstraZeneca has 1,600 employees in Delaware.