Alexion Pharmaceuticals

History

2020: AstraZeneca purchased Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion

In the middle of December, 2020 AstraZeneca purchased drug manufacturer from rare diseases of Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $39 billion cash and actions. It is the largest transaction of AstraZeneca from the moment of its foundation in 1999.

Acquisition of Alexion Pharmaceuticals will allow AstraZeneca to strengthen the positions in such areas as treatment of diseases of blood and immunological diseases. Expensive exotic diseases medicine can make profit in the amount of billions of dollars, though will be used in rather small group of patients. In recent years acquisition of the companies which are engaged in rare diseases became a popular method of sales increase for major pharmaceutical companies.

The Alexion Pharmaceuticals company specializes in development of drugs which selectively suppress immune factors to help an organism with fight against the diseases affecting the immune system. Soliris, the largest product of the company, represents the medicine of monoclonal antibodies approved in several countries for treatment of the statuses connected with immunity, such as paroksizmalny night gemoglobinuriya.

Proceeds from sales of Soliris in 2019 were about $4 billion. After Alexion released Ultomiris, one more medicine of monoclonal antibodies which will pass clinical trials at seriously ill patients of patients with COVID-19.

As a result of the transaction shareholders of Alexion will receive $60 and 2.1243 depository shares of AstraZeneca for each stock Alexion. AstraZeneca will finance new acquisition for the credit account in the amount of $17.5 billion, received from Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. It is expected that the deal will be closed in the third quarter 2021, and shareholders of Alexion will possess 15% of the united companies now.^[1]

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