AstraZeneca's rare disease unit Alexion has acquired Pfizer's gene therapy portfolio following its recent acquisition of genomic medicine pioneer LogicBio, exposing its ambition to become an industry leader in genomic medicine.
AstraZeneca said Friday that Alexion had acquired Pfizer's portfolio of preclinical gene therapy programs and underlying technologies for about $1 billion.
The deal gives Alexion access to many new adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsids.
AAV capsids are an effective mechanism for delivering therapeutic gene carriers for gene therapy and gene editing.
These new resources will help AstraZeneca develop new gene therapies in rare diseases, building on Alexion's genomic medicine capabilities, recently strengthened by the acquisition of LogicBio.
Alexion acquired genomic medicine specialist LogicBio for about $68 million last October.
LogicBio is a company that develops treatments for rare genetic diseases using the natural DNA recovery process of the human body. By acquiring LogicBio, Alexion could secure two technology platforms -- GeneRide and sAAVy.
GeneRide is a gene editing platform that utilizes a cell's natural DNA repair process to deliver the correct gene or transgene to the nucleus of a patient's cell using an engineered viral vector.
Besides, sAAVy is a gene delivery capsid platform that improves efficacy and tissue tropism with enhanced safety, and LogicBio also designs and develops cutting-edge AAV capsid libraries using sAAVy.
According to AstraZeneca's first half-year and second-quarter performance report released the same day, the Alexion acquisition complemented the skills of AstraZeneca's existing rare diseases business unit and more than quadrupled its genomic medicine portfolio.
AstraZeneca also hinted that the Pfizer-related acquisition is more than just a portfolio and includes hiring Pfizer's workforce.
"Today's announcement marks an important step forward in our plan to become the industry leader in genomic medicine," Alexion CEO Marc Dunoyer said. "We look forward to continuing our efforts to rapidly bring promising therapies to the clinic by developing enhanced platforms and technologies and integrating best-in-class expertise."