AstraZeneca Buys CinCor Pharma
AstraZeneca has entered into an agreement to buy CinCor Pharma, a US-based clinical-stage biopharma focused on developing novel treatments for resistant and uncontrolled hypertension as well as chronic kidney disease.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker will pay $1.8 billion, comprising an upfront cash payment of about $1.3 billion with the balance made up of potential contingency payments if CinCor reaches certain targets.
Anticipated to close in the first quarter of 2023, the acquisition will give AstraZeneca rights to CinCor’s experimental treatment baxdrostat for treating conditions such as high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.
It also provides AstraZeneca with the opportunity to combine baxdrostat with its own diabetes drug Farxiga. Sales of Farxiga have rocketed since the drug was also shown to benefit patients with heart failure and kidney disease, yielding revenue of $3.2 billion for the first three quarters of 2022, up 49% year on year. But the drug could face generic competition as early as 2024, according to analysis by BMO Capital Market.
“Acquiring CinCor supports our commitment to cardiorenal disease and further strengthens our pipeline with baxdrostat, said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president biopharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca. “Excess levels of aldosterone are associated with hypertension and several cardiorenal diseases, including chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease and being able to effectively reduce this would offer a much-needed treatment option for these patients.”
Baxdrostat is currently undergoing Phase 2 trials for both high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease and a Phase 3 trial for treatment-resistant hypertension is due to start during the first half of 2023.
CinCor holds the exclusive, worldwide license for baxdrostat, which will remain in place after the transaction.
Author: Elaine Burridge, Freelance Journalist
