AstraZeneca To Buy Fusion Pharma For Up To $2.4 Bln

(RTTNews) - British drug major AstraZeneca Plc. (AZN.L, AZN) announced Tuesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (FUSN) in about $2.4 billion deal.

The transaction value includes upfront cash payment of $2 billion, and maximum potential contingent value payment.

Under the deal terms, AstraZeneca, through a subsidiary, will acquire all of Fusion's shares for a price of $21 per share in cash at closing. The agreement also includes a non-transferable contingent value right of $3.00 per share in cash payable upon the achievement of a specified regulatory milestone.

The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a 97 percent premium to Fusion's closing market price of $10.64 on March 18 and an 85 percent premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average price before thes announcement.

The combined transaction value represents a 126 percent premium to Fusion's closing market price on March 18 and a 111 percent premium to the 30-day VWAP.

As part of the deal, AstraZeneca will acquire the cash, cash equivalents and short term investments on Fusion's balance sheet, which totalled $234 million as of December 31, 2023.

The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

Fusion, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, developing next-generation radioconjugates or RCs to treat cancer, will become a subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations continuing in Canada and the US.

The acquisition complements AstraZeneca's oncology portfolio with the addition of the Fusion pipeline of RCs, including their most advanced programme, FPI-2265, a potential new treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

FPI-2265 targets prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a protein that is highly expressed in mCRPC, and is currently in a Phase II trial. With the purchase, AstraZeneca expects to transform cancer treatment and outcomes for patients by replacing traditional regimens like chemotherapy and radiotherapy with more targeted treatments.

For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com