BY Richard Summerfield
Multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca has agreed to acquire US-based drug developer CinCor Pharma Inc in a deal worth up to $1.8bn.
Central to the transaction is CinCor’s experimental therapy baxdrostat, which is in development to treat conditions including high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease. Under the terms of the merger agreement, AstraZeneca will pay $26 per share in cash at closing plus a non-tradable contingent value right of $10 per share in cash payable upon a specified regulatory submission of a baxdrostat product.
The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a transaction value of approximately $1.3bn and a premium of 121 percent over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023. Total consideration including the contingent value right, if the milestone is achieved, would be approximately $1.8bn and a 206 percent premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023. CinCor’s board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction.
The deal will also see AstraZeneca, which is keen to expand its pipeline of treatments for heart and kidney disorders, gain approximately $522m in cash and marketable securities on CinCor’s balance sheet.
AstraZeneca believes that baxdrostat will complement its strategy to provide more treatments for cardiorenal diseases, an area that has a “high unmet medical need”. The company added that baxdrostat could be combined with its chronic kidney disease drug Farxiga.
“We are excited about the proposed acquisition of CinCor Pharma by AstraZeneca as we believe it offers the prospect of accelerating the development timeline and expanding the breadth of benefits patients with cardiorenal diseases might obtain from baxdrostat, if approved,” said Marc de Garidel, chief executive at CinCor. “CinCor is committed to ensuring a smooth transition of the development responsibilities to AstraZeneca once the acquisition is consummated. Thank you to all who have played, and will continue to play, essential roles in developing and evaluating baxdrostat as a potential novel treatment for cardiorenal diseases.”
“AstraZeneca’s shared commitment to addressing the unmet medical need for patients with hypertension and cardiorenal disease will accelerate CinCor’s mission to develop and deliver life-changing therapies that improve patient care,” said James Healy, chairman of CinCor’s board of directors and managing partner at Sofinnova Investments. “The CinCor management team has laid very important scientific and clinical groundwork for the baxdrostat program, including the successful Phase 2 BrigHtn trial that was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. On behalf of CinCor’s Board of Directors, I would like to recognize and thank the CinCor team, scientific advisors and patients for their dedication and contributions to the advancement of the development of baxdrostat.”
News: AstraZeneca boosts heart, kidney business with $1.8 bln CinCor deal