AstraZeneca snaps up US biotech

ASTRAZENECA was back on the acquisition trail, snapping up a uS drug maker focused on heart and kidney problems.

The FTSe 100 pharma giant has agreed to buy Massachusetts-based CinCor Pharma for $26 per share in cash, a 121pc premium to the firm’s closing price on Friday, for a total up front cost of nearly £1.1bn.

astra is also offering an additional $10 per share based on CinCor hitting certain regulatory targets, meaning the entire deal values the uS group at £1.5bn. The acquisition is expected to complete within the next three months. CinCor shares rocketed 144pc on Wall Street but astraZeneca shares dipped 0.4pc, or 46p, to 11,736p in London.

The key focus of the deal is CinCor’s experimental drug therapy baxdrostat, designed to lower blood pressure as well as treat chronic kidney disease.

astraZeneca plans to combine it with its own treatment Farxiga, a diabetes medicine that can also be used to treat patients with kidney disease and heart failure.