AstraZeneca to Buy Icosavax for Up to $1.1 Billion — Update
By Ian Walker
AstraZeneca said it would buy U.S.-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Icosavax for up to $1.1 billion in a deal that expands its vaccines and immune therapies late-stage pipeline.
The pharmaceutical giant is offering $15 for each Icosavax share held, a 43% premium to its closing market price of $10.49 on Monday.
An extra $5.00 a share in cash could be paid depending upon certain regulatory and sales milestones being met.
Icosavax has a protein virus-like particle platform technology used to develop vaccines against infectious diseases. Its initial focus is on life-threatening respiratory diseases, with a vision for combination and pan-respiratory vaccines.
"With the addition of Icosavax's Phase 3-ready lead asset to our late-stage pipeline, we will have a differentiated, advanced investigational vaccine, and a platform for further development of combination vaccines against respiratory viruses," said AstraZeneca's executive vice president, Vaccines & Immune Therapies, Iskra Reic.
AstraZeneca said it expects the acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2024.
Write to Ian Walker at ian.walker@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 12, 2023 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.-
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