AstraZeneca’s mega $39 billion takeover of Alexion Pharmaceuticals has come to a close, delivering the British pharma a lucrative portfolio of immunology medicines and a towering presence in rare diseases.
AZ on Wednesday announced the completion of its Alexion acquisition, a week after securing a pivotal nod from the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
Industry watchers were concerned that the deal, the largest announced among pharma players last year, could become a target for an emboldened, Democrat-led Federal Trade Commission (FTC). But those fears were eventually wiped away as AZ secured blessings from the U.S. in April, then from the EU in early July.
Author: Canan Schuman, PharmD/PhD
Canan Schumann is Chief Editor for Axxiem and for Axxiem's blog "BiotechOntheWeb". When not writing for Axxiem, Canan works as a Clinical Research Scientist II at the Research and Development Department at Molecular Testing Labs, developing endpoint assays for the detection of infectious disease and cancer. Canan currently resides in Portland, Oregon, where he received his Honors Bachelor of Science (HBS), Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD.), and his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biopharmaceutics at Oregon State University.