London
AstraZeneca tacks on Fusion: Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has bought Canadian biotech firm Fusion Pharmaceuticals for $2.4bn, says Ian Johnston in the Financial Times. The deal will help AstraZeneca, which specialises in cancer treatments, to develop a more precise form of radiotherapy using Fusion’s radioconjugate drug, which targets cancer cells, minimising the damage to healthy ones. Fusion’s treatment for advanced prostate cancer is currently in trials and it could enable AstraZenca to better compete with Swiss rival Novatis’s radioconjugate drug, Pluvicto. AstraZeneca paid $2bn up front in cash, with a further $400m to come if Fusion hits regulatory hurdles.
AstraZeneca is on an acquisition spree to bolster its cancer drug portfolio, having recently bought French rare diseases start-up Amolyt for $1bn, vaccine maker Icosavax for $1.1bn, and Chinese oncology company Gracell for $1bn. The company is “well positioned to be leaders in the broader field [of radioconjugates]”, says Susan Galbraith (pictured), vice-president of oncology research and development (R&D) at AstraZeneca. More than a third of revenues came from its cancer drugs last
