News Analysis

AstraZeneca agrees to pay $15.6 billion for US biotech MedImmune to boost its biologic drug discovery and development capabilities.

Through the deal, AstraZeneca, who have had several late-stage clinical trial setbacks in the past year, will acquire three marketed therapies: Synergis (pavlizumab), the first anti-infective monoclonal antibody to be approved; Ethyol (amifostine), a cytoprotective agent for patients receiving cancer therapy; and FluMist, an inhalable flu vaccine that has not performed as well as hoped. MedImmune's latest annual sales from these products have been reported to be ∼$1.3 billion, more than $1 billion of which came from Synergis. In addition, MedImmune has a number of novel products in its pipeline, including three potential anticancer drugs and three potential drugs for inflammatory disorders that have entered early-stage clinical trials, all but one of which are biologics. Importantly, the acquisition also brings in MedImmune's two decades of experience developing biologics and vaccines, and their manufacturing capacity for such products. AstraZeneca believes this will significantly enhance its biologic development capabilities, which were kick-started through its acquisition of Cambridge Antibody Technology last year.