AstraZeneca
buys rare disease drugmaker Caelum in potential $500 million deal
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[September 29, 2021]
By Yadarisa Shabong and Sachin Ravikumar
(Reuters) -AstraZeneca will take full
control of Caelum Biosciences in a deal worth up to $500 million, the
drugmaker said on Wednesday, sharpening its focus on rare-disease drugs
following its purchase of Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
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The deal gives AstraZeneca access to another potentially lucrative
rare disease drug that is undergoing late-stage trials and has a
"fast track" status for regulatory review in the United States.
New Jersey-based Caelum will become part of AstraZeneca's Alexion
division, the rare diseases specialist it bought for $39 billion
earlier this year.
Alexion will pay $150 million to buy the remaining stake it does not
already own in Caelum and make future payments of up to $350
million, depending on milestones achieved. Alexion took a minority
stake in Caelum in 2019.
Caelum's drug candidate aims to treat AL amyloidosis, a rare,
life-threatening disease that damages the heart and kidneys and
affects an estimated 20,000 people across six Western countries.
The disease causes abnormal proteins called amyloids to build up in
human organs and disrupt their normal function. Caelum's drug is a
type of monoclonal antibody that binds to amyloid deposits to reduce
or remove them and improve organ function.
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 "With a median survival time of
less than 18 months following diagnosis, there
is an urgent need for new treatments for this
devastating disease," Alexion CEO Marc Dunoyer
said in a statement.
Since buying Alexion, AstraZeneca has had mixed
fortunes with rare disease drugs under
development. While it reported promising results
from trials of a Wilson's disease drug, it
abandoned trials for an amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis drug after it failed to show efficacy. Shares in AstraZeneca were up 2.2% by 0900 GMT
on the London Stock Exchange, in line with the
broader market.
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Sachin
Ravikumar in BengaluruEditing by Ramakrishnan M.
and Mark Potter)
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