AstraZeneca toAcquire 55% Stake in Acerta for Upfront Payment of $2.5B

Acerta Pharma B.V. (Acerta), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement with AstraZeneca AZN whereby AstraZeneca will acquire a majority stake in Acerta. The transaction provides AstraZeneca with Acerta's potential best-in-class irreversible oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitor, acalabrutinib (ACP-196), currently in Phase III development for B-cell blood cancers and in Phase I/II clinical trials in multiple solid tumors. "We are excited to announce this strategic transaction with AstraZeneca, which is a testament to the value inherent in Acerta and acalabrutinib," said David Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of Acerta. "AstraZeneca brings tremendous expertise and resources that will help us maximize the See full press release