AstraZeneca’s MedImmune to acquire AlphaCore Pharma

AstraZeneca has announced that its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune has agreed a deal to acquire the US-based biotechnology company AlphaCore Pharma.

The newly-purchased business is headquartered in Michigan and is currently focused on developing ACP-501, a recombinant human lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) enzyme that has demonstrated promise in a phase I trial.

It is thought that the drug could aid the management of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and address the rare hereditary disorder known as familial LCAT deficiency.

This acquisition falls in line with MedImmune's focus on cardiovascular and metabolic disease in its small and large molecule research.

Dr Bahija Jallal, executive vice-president at MedImmune, said: "As the science in this area continues to evolve, we are committed to exploring unique pathways that could lead to new combination or standalone therapies for patients living with chronic and acute cardiovascular diseases."

This comes after AstraZeneca enhanced its research capabilities through new collaborations with Moderna Therapeutics and Sweden's Karolinska Institutet last month.