AstraZeneca, via ReutersAstraZeneca employees at a plant in Macclesfield, Britain.LONDON — The European drug maker AstraZeneca agreed on Monday to buy the biotechnology company Ardea Biosciences for $1.26 billion, the latest in a recent series of deals in the global pharmaceutical industry.
Under the terms of the deal, AstraZeneca, based in London, said it would offer Ardea’s shareholders $32 for each of their shares in the company, which is currently developing a treatment for gout.
The deal is 54 percent above Ardea’s closing share price on Friday.
AstraZeneca’s efforts to buy Ardea come after the British drug company GlaxoSmithKline offered $2.6 billion last week to acquire Human Genome Sciences, another biotech company.
Human Genome Sciences, based in Rockville, Md., said the offer did not reflect the value of the company, but added that it had started to explore its strategic options, including the potential sale of the business.
Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg NewsDavid R. Brennan, the chief executive of AstraZeneca.AstraZeneca’s deal to acquire Ardea, which is based in San Diego, will give it access to a number of promising drugs, according to a company statement.
Ardea is currently developing the drug lesinurad, which is in Phase III development as a potential treatment for the management of hyperuricemia in gout patients. The condition, which results in an abnormally high level of uric acid in the blood, causes joint inflammation.
“This attractive Phase III program is an excellent opportunity to leverage AstraZeneca’s global specialty and primary care sales and marketing capabilities,” David R. Brennan, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The Ardea team has done a great job developing lesinurad along with a promising next-generation gout program. These compounds have real potential to benefit patients.”
Ardea shareholders representing roughly 30 percent of the current total shares have agreed to vote in favor of the transaction, according to a company statement.
The deal is expected to close by August.