Alexion strikes up to $1 billion deal with Pfizer

Alexion, the rare disease business of UK pharma major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), has entered a definitive purchase and licence agreement for a portfolio of pre-clinical gene therapy programs and enabling technologies from US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE).

The agreement furthers Alexion and AstraZeneca’s commitment to advancing next-generation genomic medicines with the addition of complementary pipeline assets and innovative technologies.

As part of the agreement, the transaction will bring to Alexion a number of novel adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids. AAV capsids have been shown to be an effective mechanism for delivering therapeutic gene cargos for gene therapy and gene editing. These new resources build on Alexion and AstraZeneca’s combined capabilities in genomic medicine, recently strengthened with the $68 million acquisition of LogicBio, with the objective to develop new genetic therapies with improved safety and efficacy profiles. Additionally, Alexion will seek to welcome talent from Pfizer associated with the portfolio. AstraZeneca acquired Alexion in a $39 billion deal in 2021.