Alexion agrees $930m deal to buy Achillion

Alexion has agreed to a $930m deal to buy smaller biotech Achillion Pharma.
The $6.30-per-share offer is a 73% premium on Achillion’s closing share price ahead of the announcement. If the deal proceeds, it will add two experimental treatments for paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare disease whose treatment is currently dominated by Alexion’s blockbuster complement C5 inhibitor Soliris.
The deal has been agreed due to Alexion’s interest in Achillion’s orally active, small molecule factor A inhibitors headed by danicopan, which is currently in phase 2 and is already being tested in combination with Soliris in PNH, and is part of a push to reduce Alexion’s reliance on Soliris, which is expected to make around $4.1bn in sales this year. The drug currently makes up more than 80% of the company’s sales and is facing threat from competition.
Other deals to boost Alexion’s company portfolio and pipeline include the $1.2bn take over from Suntimmune and the purchase of Wilson Therapeutics.