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AstraZeneca to Acquire Genexine

$AstraZeneca PLC(AZN)$ announced on Tuesday that it has formally reached an agreement to acquire Chinese company $Gracell Biotechnologies Inc.(GRCL)$ or up to $1.2 billion, as part of its efforts to expand its cell therapy business. The deal includes $1 billion in cash, as well as non-negotiable cash contingent value rights of up to $0.30 per share, to be paid upon reaching specific regulatory and sales milestones. AstraZeneca stated in a Tuesday release that the cash portion of the deal is $1 billion, representing a 62.0% premium over GRCN's last closing price of $6.19 per share. With the additional contingent value, the total value of the deal could reach $1.2 billion.

This strategic acquisition not only strengthens AstraZeneca's financial position, but also expands its cell therapy portfolio, providing potential treatment options for cancer and autoimmune diseases. AZN stated that this acquisition will not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for 2023, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.

The acquisition will add GC012F CAR-T cell therapy to AstraZeneca's expanding cell therapy pipeline. Developed based on the FasTCAR technology platform, GC012F is an innovative BCMA/CD19 dual-target autologous chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy in clinical development, with the potential to become a new generation of treatment for multiple myeloma, various malignant hematologic tumors, and autoimmune diseases (including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)).

Bristol Myers Squibb Acquire RayzeBio

$Bristol-Myers Squibb(BMY)$ will acquire $RayzeBio, Inc.(RYZB)$ , which has only been listed for three months, for $62.50 per share in cash, with a total equity value of approximately $4.1 billion. BMY is expected to finance the acquisition through new debt and the transaction is anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2024.

The transaction is expected to result in a dilutive impact of approximately $0.13 per share on BMY's diluted EPS for 2024.

Bristol Myers Squibb will gain access to RayzeBio's differentiated targeted alpha radiotherapy platform and a range of innovative products under development, including RYZ101 and RYZ801, enriching its oncology product pipeline and further strengthening its leadership in the field of oncology through the addition of a radiopharmaceutical platform.

RYZ101, the lead program, is in phase 3 development for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, with early-stage development for small cell lung cancer and potential other tumor types.

Founded in 2020, RayzeBio is a clinical-stage innovative radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) company. In just four years, the company has not only evolved into a comprehensive radiopharmaceutical company but also successfully debuted on the NASDAQ in mid-September this year, raising a total of $311 million and ranking among the top global IPOs in the innovative drug field for 2023.

The performance of RayzeBio after listing has been quite strong, with its stock price increasing from $18 per share to $30.57 before the acquisition, representing a 70% increase.

Currently, the company has a market value of $3.6 billion, with an additional 20% premium.

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