December 11, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
LONDON – British drugmaker AstraZeneca is poised to expand its oncology pipeline by acquiring the privately-held Acerta Pharma BV for more than $5 billion. The two companies are in advanced talks and may announce a deal soon, according to news reports.
Acerta, based in the Netherlands, is developing an immuno-oncology therapy for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In an article published on Dec. 8 regarding data for a Phase I and Phase II study, Acerta said its investigational drug acalabrutinib, showed a 95 percent response rate in patients with relapsed CLL. Acalabrutinib is a second-generation, selective and potent inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk).
Neither AstraZeneca nor Acerta have commented or confirmed the reports of the acquisition. AstraZeneca’s is slightly down this afternoon, trading at $33.36 per share.
Based on its clinical trial data, AstraZeneca is likely banking on the possibility of acalabrutinib becoming a blockbuster treatment for CLL, looking to compete with Venetoclax, a CLL treatment being jointly developed by AbbVie and Genentech . During a panel at the American Society of Hematology meeting in Orlando, Fla. earlier this week, AbbVie Inc. announced Venetoclax has shown a nearly 80 percent positive response rate. Venetoclax is an investigational oral B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) inhibitor being investigated for the treatment of CLL and other blood disorders. The drug works by blocking the BCL-2 protein and “telling” the cancer cells to die, giving the healthy cells room to grow.
A big money-making drug is something AstraZeneca is looking for to meet its revenue goal of $45 billion in sales by 2023. Acquiring new drugs through mergers and acquisitions will help the company offset declining revenues of drugs that are facing patent loss and increased generic competition, including the antacid Nexium and its heart drug Crestor. Last month, AstraZeneca saw the approval of Tagrisso, its new treatment for non-small lung cancer.
Analysts have predicted Tagrisso will generate about $3 billion in revenue at its peak. Tagrisso was approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. A month’s treatment is expected to have a price tag of $12,750, which is comparable to other lung treatments such as Pfizer Inc. ‘s Xalkori and Novartis ' Zykadia.
The approval for Tagrisso follows the recent launch of Lynparza for ovarian cancer, which takes the company closer to its goal of bringing six new cancer treatments to market by 2020, Reuters reported.
In November, AstraZeneca snapped up the Bay Area’s ZS Pharma in a deal worth $2.7 billion to bolster its cardiovascular and metabolic offerings. The acquisition gives AstraZeneca access to ZS Pharma’s lead hyperkalemia treatment ZS-9, which is currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of May 26, 2016. ZS Pharma, founded in 2008, uses proprietary ion-trap technology to develop drugs that mimic or exploit the body’s own ion channels. AstraZeneca said ZS-9 will complement its investigational medicine roxadustat, which is currently in Phase III development for patients with anemia associated with CKD, as well as its leading diabetes portfolio.
