Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced that it has reached an agreement to buy UK biotech company Arrow Therapeutics.
It has agreed to purchase the total share capital of the private company for $150 million (£75 million). With the purchase, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2007, AstraZeneca will also acquire the company's anti-viral programmes for hepatitis C and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Arrow currently has 57 employees based in London. According to a release by the two companies, there are no current plans to move Arrow's operations from this base.
John Patterson, executive director of development for AstraZeneca, said that the acquisition will see the company take over the world-class anti-viral products being developed by the company.
Arrow's most advanced research is RSV604, an oral anti-RSV drug trial being conducted in conjunction with drug company Novartis. It is currently in second phase trials.
"Arrow Therapeutics is an excellent opportunity to acquire a world-class anti-viral capability to add to our own anti-bacterial research capabilities and promising early stage compounds," Mr Patterson said.
"AstraZeneca is determined to focus on areas of highest unmet needs and we have identified anti-bacterials and anti-virals as a key opportunity."
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