AstraZeneca to acquire CinCor Pharma in a deal worth $1,8 bn

AstraZeneca has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Under the terms of the agreement with CinCor, which is focused on developing novel treatments for resistant and uncontrolled hypertension as well as chronic kidney disease, 

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will initiate a tender offer to acquire all of CinCor’s outstanding shares for a price of $26 per share in cash at closing, plus a non-tradable contingent value right of $10 per share in cash payable upon a specified regulatory submission of a baxdrostat product. 

The upfront cash portion of the consideration represents a transaction value of approximately $1.3 billion and a 121 per cent premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023. Combined, the upfront and maximum potential contingent value payments represent, if achieved, a transaction value of approximately $1.8 billion and a 206 per cent premium over CinCor’s closing market price on 6 January 2023. 

As part of the transaction, AstraZeneca will acquire the cash and marketable securities on CinCor’s balance sheet, which totalled approximately $522 million as of 30 September 2022.

The acquisition will help AstraZeneca access global rights to baxdrostat, a novel aldosterone synthase inhibitor in development for blood pressure lowering. It will in turn bolster AstraZeneca’s cardiorenal pipeline by adding CinCor’s candidate drug, baxdrostat (CIN-107), an aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) for blood pressure lowering in treatment-resistant hypertension, the company stated in a release.

Baxdrostat is stated to be highly selective for aldosterone synthase and spares the cortisol pathway in humans. B4sides, it has the potential for combination with Farxiga and complements AstraZeneca’s strategy to provide added benefit across cardiorenal diseases, where there is a high unmet medical need.

“Acquiring CinCor supports our commitment to cardiorenal disease and further strengthens our pipeline with baxdrostat. Excess levels of aldosterone are associated with hypertension and several cardiorenal diseases, including chronic kidney disease and coronary artery disease and being able to effectively reduce this would offer a much-needed treatment option for these patients,” Mene Pangalos, executive vice president BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, said.

“We are excited about the proposed acquisition of CinCor Pharma by AstraZeneca as we believe it offers the prospect of accelerating the development timeline and expanding the breadth of benefits patients with cardiorenal diseases might obtain from baxdrostat, if approved. CinCor is committed to ensuring a smooth transition of the development responsibilities to AstraZeneca once the acquisition is consummated,” Marc de Garidel, CEO of CinCor, said.

The closing of the tender offer will be subject to certain conditions, including the tender of shares representing at least a majority of the total number of CinCor’s outstanding shares, and other customary regulatory clearances. Upon successful completion of the tender offer, AstraZeneca’s acquisition subsidiary will be merged with and into CinCor, and any remaining shares of common stock of CinCor will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive the same merger consideration (including the contingent value right) per share payable in the tender offer. Subject to the satisfaction of the conditions in the merger agreement, the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.