AstraZeneca buys Spirogen for $440m

Spirogen, a life sciences spin-out of University College London, has been acquired by pharmaceutical conglomerate AstraZeneca for $440m.

The trade sale, made through AZ subsidiary MedImmune, will see AstraZeneca pay $200m up front in cash with a further $240m in return for the firm achieving developmental milestones.

Spirogen is developing cancer-fighting technology known as proprietary pyrrolobenzodiazepine. The process essentially designates tumours with biodegradable linkers which then attract cytoxic agents, colloquially known as warheads, to the site. This provides direct delivery of drugs to the tumour which both increases the focus of the drugs on tumour destruction whilst reducing damage to the patient.

Winners from the sale include controlling shareholder and private equity firm Auven Therapuetics and Cancer Research UK, which will receive around $8m for its 2% share.

Commenting on the sale, Spirogen CEO Dr. Chris Martin said: “This deal reflects the very significant progress made by our scientists, most notably over the last two years, as we have applied our warhead and linker technologies to the development of highly potent and specific ADCs. We believe that PBD-armed antibody-drug conjugates will emerge as a critical component in the next generation of cancer biologics with the potential to make a difference for oncologists and their patients. We look forward to combining our world class capabilities in this area with MedImmune’s ability to develop this exciting class of oncology drugs.”