By JESSICA HODGSONCONNECTLONDON—AstraZeneca AZN.LN -0.05%PLC agreed to pay up to $500 million to acquire Amplimmune Inc., which seeks to harness the human immune system to fight cancer.
The deal was the latest in a string spearheaded by Chief Executive Pascal Soriot to restock AstraZeneca's flagging pipeline, which is being depleted as patents expire on key drugs.
Closely held Amplimmune, based in Maryland, doesn't have revenue-generating drugs but is developing compounds that complement drugs in development by AstraZeneca's MedImmune biological-drugs unit. Biological drugs are based on living cells rather than chemicals.
Acquiring Amplimmune "will allow us to strengthen our arsenal of potential cancer therapies," Bahija Jallal, executive vice president of MedImmune, said in a written statement Monday.
London-based AstraZeneca will pay an initial payment of $225 million and as much as $275 million, depending on hitting certain developmental milestones.
Dr. Soriot, who joined last October from Roche Holding AG, ROG.VX -1.08%is focusing AstraZeneca on specialty drugs, particularly in the heart, lung, cancer, inflammation and autoimmune fields.
AstraZeneca in the past six months has agreed to acquire respiratory-drug maker Pearl Therapeutics Inc. for up to $1.15 billion and Omthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops fish-oil-based drugs to lower fat in the blood.
As AstraZeneca blockbuster drugs such as antipsychotic Seroquel and cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor lose patent protection, the company's revenue has dropped sharply for six consecutive quarters, mainly because of competition from low-cost generic alternatives.
Drugs that seek to trigger immune responses to target cancer cells are considered among the most promising areas of cancer research. Drug makers including Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC have been working on such therapies. Amgen Inc. on Sunday reached a deal to buy fellow biotech Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. for roughly $10.4 billion, underscoring the desire to tap expected growth in the cancer-drug industry.
AstraZeneca acquired MedImmune for $15.6 billion in 2007. Biological drugs have a higher success rate in getting from trial to market than chemical drugs and are harder to copy. But MedImmune hasn't generated a significant impact on AstraZeneca's revenue or profit.
The deal was the latest in a string spearheaded by Chief Executive Pascal Soriot to restock AstraZeneca's flagging pipeline, which is being depleted as patents expire on key drugs.
Closely held Amplimmune, based in Maryland, doesn't have revenue-generating drugs but is developing compounds that complement drugs in development by AstraZeneca's MedImmune biological-drugs unit. Biological drugs are based on living cells rather than chemicals.
Acquiring Amplimmune "will allow us to strengthen our arsenal of potential cancer therapies," Bahija Jallal, executive vice president of MedImmune, said in a written statement Monday.
London-based AstraZeneca will pay an initial payment of $225 million and as much as $275 million, depending on hitting certain developmental milestones.
Dr. Soriot, who joined last October from Roche Holding AG, ROG.VX -1.08%is focusing AstraZeneca on specialty drugs, particularly in the heart, lung, cancer, inflammation and autoimmune fields.
AstraZeneca in the past six months has agreed to acquire respiratory-drug maker Pearl Therapeutics Inc. for up to $1.15 billion and Omthera Pharmaceuticals Inc., which develops fish-oil-based drugs to lower fat in the blood.
As AstraZeneca blockbuster drugs such as antipsychotic Seroquel and cholesterol-lowering drug Crestor lose patent protection, the company's revenue has dropped sharply for six consecutive quarters, mainly because of competition from low-cost generic alternatives.
Drugs that seek to trigger immune responses to target cancer cells are considered among the most promising areas of cancer research. Drug makers including Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC have been working on such therapies. Amgen Inc. on Sunday reached a deal to buy fellow biotech Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. for roughly $10.4 billion, underscoring the desire to tap expected growth in the cancer-drug industry.
AstraZeneca acquired MedImmune for $15.6 billion in 2007. Biological drugs have a higher success rate in getting from trial to market than chemical drugs and are harder to copy. But MedImmune hasn't generated a significant impact on AstraZeneca's revenue or profit.