Tuesday, AstraZeneca Plc AZN agreed to acquire Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc FUSN for $21.00 per share in cash plus a non-transferable contingent value right (CVR) of $3.00 per share in cash payable upon achievement of a specified regulatory milestone.
The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a transaction value of approximately $2 billion, a 97% premium to Fusion’s closing market price of $10.64 on March 18, 2024.
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Together, the upfront and potential maximum payments represent, if achieved, a transaction value of approximately $2.4 billion.
AstraZeneca will acquire cash, cash equivalents and near-term investments on Fusion’s balance sheet, totaling $234 million as of December 31, 2023.
The acquisition marks a significant step forward for AstraZeneca in realizing its ambition to transform cancer treatment and patient outcomes by replacing traditional regimens such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy with more targeted treatments.
In recent years, radioconjugates (RCs) have emerged as a promising modality in cancer treatment.
These medicines deliver a radioactive isotope directly to tumor cells through precise targeting using molecules such as antibodies, peptides or small molecules.
This approach has many potential advantages over traditional radiation therapy, including minimizing damage to healthy cells and being able to access inaccessible tumors through external beam radiation.
This acquisition complements AstraZeneca’s oncology portfolio by adding RC’s Fusion pipeline, including the company’s most advanced program, 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 highly expressed in mCRPC, and is currently in a Phase 2 study.
More recently, Bristol Myers Squibb & Co BMY acquired RayzeBio Inc RISB for $62.50 per share in cash, for a total asset value of approximately $4.1 billion, or $3.6 billion net of estimated cash acquired.
Furthermore, last year, Eli Lilly and Co LLY has completed the acquisition of POINT Biopharma Global Inc. for $12.50 per share in cash, for a total of approximately $1.4 billion.
Price Action: FUSN shares rose 98.5% to $21.12 in the premarket session at last check on Tuesday.
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