AstraZeneca has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire CinCor Pharma, a US-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on developing novel treatments for resistant and uncontrolled hypertension as well as chronic kidney disease.
Article continues below
The acquisition will bolster AstraZeneca’s cardiorenal pipeline by adding CinCor’s candidate drug, baxdrostat (CIN-107), an aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) for blood pressure lowering in treatment-resistant hypertension.
Baxdrostat represents a potentially leading next-generation ASI as it is highly selective for aldosterone synthase and spares the cortisol pathway in humans.
The opportunity also brings the potential for combination with Farxiga and complements AstraZeneca’s strategy to provide added benefit across cardiorenal diseases, where there is a high unmet medical need.
Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will initiate a tender offer to acquire all of CinCor’s outstanding shares for a price of $26 per share in cash at closing, plus a non-tradable contingent value right of $10 per share in cash payable upon a specified regulatory submission of a baxdrostat product.
The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a transaction value of approximately $1.3bn and a 121% premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 06 January 2023.
Combined, the upfront and maximum potential contingent value payments represent, if achieved, a transaction value of approximately $1.8bn and a 206% premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023.
As part of the transaction, AstraZeneca will acquire the cash and marketable securities on CinCor’s balance sheet, which totalled approximately $522m as of 30 September 2022.
The closing of the tender offer will be subject to certain conditions, including the tender of shares representing at least a majority of the total number of CinCor’s outstanding shares, and other customary regulatory clearances. ■
The main thing making weather headlines Friday and into the weekend will be the widespread coverage of showers and thunderstorms across much of the central and eastern U.S., with a particular focus across southeast Texas, the Mid-South, and portions of Virginia.