Benzinga - by Vandana Singh, Benzinga Editor.
Thursday, AstraZeneca Plc (NASDAQ:AZN) agreed to acquire Amolyt Pharma, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing treatments for rare endocrine diseases.
Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire all of Amolyt Pharma’s outstanding shares for a total consideration of up to $1.05 billion on a cash and debt-free basis, including $800 million upfront at deal closing, plus the right for Amolyt Pharma’s shareholders to receive an additional contingent payment of $250 million payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone.
The proposed acquisition will bolster the Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease late-stage pipeline and expand on its bone metabolism franchise with the addition of eneboparatide (AZP-3601), a Phase 3 investigational therapeutic peptide for hypoparathyroidism.
In patients with hypoparathyroidism, a deficiency in parathyroid hormone (PTH) production results in significant dysregulation of calcium and phosphate.
It is one of the largest known rare diseases, affecting an estimated 115,000 people in the U.S. and 107,000 people in the European Union, approximately 80% of whom are women.
Thierry Abribat, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Strong Phase II data suggest eneboparatide has the potential to improve outcomes for patients and to shift the treatment paradigm for hypoparathyroidism, and we look forward to seeing the continued advancement of the Phase III trial.”
Phase 2 data showed that eneboparatide achieved normalization of serum calcium levels and the potential to eliminate dependence on daily calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
In adults with chronic hypoparathyroidism and hypercalciuria, results showed that eneboparatide normalized calcium in the urine. In addition, eneboparatide preserved bone mineral density for patients with hypoparathyroidism.
Price Action: AZN shares are down 0.44% at $67.28 on the last check Thursday.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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