Astra takes a £2.7bn stake in cancer drug

PHaRMaCeUtICaLS giant astraZeneca has unveiled its third deal in as many weeks as Pascal Soriot races to restock the medicine cabinet before key drugs lose patent protection.

the astra chief executive, who saw off a £69bn predatory bid from US rival Pfizer, has been pursuing a series of deals but insists the company is sticking to its target of $45bn (£30bn) of sales by 2023 – a key plank of its takeover defence.

Yesterday the FtSe 100 company announced that it is buying 55pc of privately- owned biotech company acerta Pharma for £2.7bn in a bet on the firm’s acalabrutinib blood cancer drug becoming a best-seller.

Soriot reckons the treatment could sell more than £3.3bn a year and help transform astra’s oncology business.

astra is paying £1.7bn up front with another £1bn due either when acalabrutinib receives regulatory approval or at the end of 2018. It will also retain the option to acquire the remaining 45pc of acerta, which is based in the netherlands and California.

Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Parkes said: ‘While significant clinical and commercial risks remain, the transaction could ultimately prove a stroke of genius, adding a multibillion-dollar potential drug launch in 2017 that could accelerate astraZeneca’s re- emergence as a major force in oncology.’

acerta will help bolster astraZeneca’s pipeline as sales of older blockbuster products, including cholesterol treatment Crestor and heartburn pill nexium, lose protection from cheaper copycats.

In november, astraZeneca agreed to buy ZS Pharma, a specialist in treating high potassium levels, for £1.8bn, and on Wednesday it bought drugs firm takeda’s respiratory business for £385m.

Investors have welcomed the deals and shares have risen in recent days, ending up 17.5p at 4434p yesterday.