Acquisition Of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Will Enhance AstraZeneca's Ability To Generate Novel Cancer Treatments
12/23/2005
AstraZeneca today announced an agreement to acquire KuDOS Pharmaceuticals
Limited, a privately-owned UK biotechnology company, focused on the discovery
and development of oncology therapies based on the inhibition of DNA repair. The
total share capital of the company will be purchased for $210m cash, subject to
debt and working capital adjustment. The transaction is expected to close early
in 2006.
Acquisition of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals represents an important strategic step
for AstraZeneca: strengthening its portfolio of promising cancer treatments from
external opportunities and also demonstrating its commitment to discover,
develop and bring to market innovative therapies.
This transaction provides AstraZeneca with a widely-recognised expert group
and technology platform in an area of research that complements internal
capabilities in oncology, one of the company's key therapy areas. The DNA repair
platform developed by KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, in association with its founder
Professor Stephen Jackson of Cambridge University, includes several different
approaches towards inhibition of enzymes involved in the responses to various
types of DNA damage. DNA repair inhibitors have the potential to kill cancer
cells either as stand-alone therapy or by enhancing the efficacy of chemo- and
radio-therapies.
The acquisition of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals augments AstraZeneca's portfolio
with clinical and pre-clinical compounds and programmes. An innovative, targeted
compound, KU 59436, an oral poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) enzyme inhibitor,
is currently in phase I clinical development. PARP is a key signalling enzyme
involved in triggering repair of single strand DNA damage.
PARP inhibition selectively kills tumour cells lacking the homologous
recombination (HR) DNA repair pathway whilst sparing normal cells. Known defects
in HR repair include the well-characterised hereditary BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations
in breast and ovarian cancer for which diagnostic tests are available. This
therapeutic/diagnostic combination offers the exciting potential that KU 59436
can be developed as a new cancer monotherapy targeted for the benefit of a
definable patient population.
"KuDOS Pharmaceuticals is an excellent opportunity to acquire an established
technology platform additive to our own oncology research capabilities and
promising early development stage compounds at the same time," said Dr. John
Patterson, Executive Director of Development, AstraZeneca.
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals currently has some 75 employees deployed on two UK
sites: Cambridge and Horsham. AstraZeneca's immediate plans are for KuDOS
Pharmaceuticals to become a hub for DNA repair discovery activities reporting
into the Global Cancer and Infection Research Area (CIRA) and it will remain at
its present sites. CIRA also has discovery hubs in Alderley Park (UK), Boston
(US) and Bangalore (India).
"Our scientists are looking forward to working within the AstraZeneca
research framework, which is recognised as being a world leader in oncology,"
said Dr Graeme Smith, Research Director of KuDOS Pharmaceuticals.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the
research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals
and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading
pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of over $21.4 billion and leading
positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, respiratory, oncology
and neuroscience products. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability
Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.
KuDOS Pharmaceuticals' current shareholders include investment funds
represented by Advent Venture Partners, BankInvest Biomedical Venture, Euclid SR
Partners, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, Life Science Partners
(LSP), 3i, and SV Life Sciences, who were advised on the transaction by
Lazard |
