AstraZeneca to pay up to $2.4bn for Fusion Pharmaceuticals
The deal could stack up to $2.4 billion and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2024. Fusion will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations continuing in Canada and the US.
The acquisition marks a major step forward in AstraZeneca delivering on its ambition to transform cancer treatment and outcomes for patients by replacing traditional regimens like chemotherapy and radiotherapy with more targeted treatments.
RCs have emerged as a promising modality in cancer treatment over recent years. These medicines deliver a radioactive isotope directly to cancer cells through precise targeting using molecules such as antibodies, peptides or small molecules.
This approach has many potential advantages compared to traditional radiotherapy including minimising damage to healthy cells and enabling access to tumours not reachable through external beam radiation.
The acquisition complements AstraZeneca's leading oncology portfolio with the addition of the Fusion pipeline of RCs, including its 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.
AstraZeneca says the deal brings fresh expertise and pioneering R & D, manufacturing and supply chain capabilities in actinium-based RCs to the company.
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice-President, Oncology R & D, AstraZeneca, said: “Between thirty and fifty per cent of patients with cancer today receive radiotherapy at some point during treatment, and the acquisition of Fusion furthers our ambition to transform this aspect of care with next-generation radioconjugates.
“Together with Fusion, we have an opportunity to accelerate the development of FPI-2265 as a potential new treatment for prostate cancer, and to harness their innovative actinium-based platform to develop radioconjugates as foundational regimens.”
Fusion CEO John Valliant added: “This acquisition combines Fusion's expertise and capabilities in radioconjugates, including our industry-leading radiopharmaceutical R & D, pipeline, manufacturing and actinium-225 supply chain, with AstraZeneca's leadership in small molecules and biologics engineering to develop novel radioconjugates.
“Expanding on our existing collaboration with AstraZeneca where we have advanced FPI-2068, an EGFR-cMET targeted radioconjugate into Phase I clinical trials, gives us a unique opportunity to accelerate the development of next-generation radioconjugates with the aim of transforming patient outcomes.”
