AstraZeneca Boosts Heart, Kidney Business with $1.8 bln CinCor Deal

According to Reuters, AstraZeneca said it had struck a deal to buy U.S.-based drug developer CinCor Pharma Inc for up to $1.8 billion to increase its stock of heart and kidney drugs.

The offer also includes a non-tradable contingent value right of $10 per share in cash payable upon a specified regulatory baxdrostat submission.

CinCor's shares closed at $11.78 on Friday, well below its initial public offering price of $16 per share in January 2022.

"Obviously, there's been a devaluation of biotech companies over the past year," said Pangalos. "I think we're very happy with what we've managed to achieve here in terms of the cost."

The value of the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index (.NBI) fell around 20% by mid-December from its peak in August 2021, giving large drugmakers impetus to seek deals to replenish their pipelines as their big sellers approach the end of their patent life.

Core to the deal is CinCor's experimental therapy baxdrostat, which is in development to treat conditions including high blood pressure and chronic kidney disease.

AstraZeneca aims to combine baxdrostat with its own Farxiga, a diabetes drug whose sales ballooned after it was also shown to benefit patients with heart failure and kidney disease.