Acerta Pharma has operations in Oss, the Netherlands and several US sites. The US headquarters is in Redwood City, California.
The deal gives AstraZeneca access to Acerta’s lead molecule, acalabrutinib (ACP-196), a selective and potent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, which is claimed to be effective against relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Acalabrutinib is presently in phase III development for B-cell blood cancers and in phase I/II clinical studies in multiple solid tumours.
AstraZeneca will pay $2.5bn upfront, and remaining $1.5bn will be paid either on receipt of the initial regulatory approval for acalabrutinib or at the end of 2018, depending on which occurs first.
AstraZeneca also has the option to acquire the rest of stake in Acerta for a further $3bn subject to achieving several milestones.
The company can exercise its option to buy the remaining 45% interest depending on the first approval of acalabrutinib in both the US and Europe and after the establishment of commercial opportunity.
Acerta Pharma CEO David Johnson said: "Together with AstraZeneca and their global footprint, we believe we will further accelerate our global clinical development program and maximize the future commercial potential of acalabrutinib."
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said: "Acalabrutinib provides us with a small molecule presence in blood cancers to complement our existing immunotherapy approach, in collaboration with Celgene in haematological malignancies."
AstraZeneca has also completed the acquisition of ZS Pharma for $2.7bn to expand its cardiovascular and metabolic disease portfolio.
Image: AstraZeneca said the investment in Acerta Pharma is consistent with its focus on long-term growth and reflects the role
targeted business development plays in its business model. Photo: courtesy of AstraZeneca.