Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

AstraZeneca PLC / Allergan plc

2020 · Asset Purchase · $250M · Complete

Skeptical — critic reaction at announcement

Outcome grade pending — assessed 5 years post-close.

The coverage arc

Jan 27, 2020 AbbVie News Center Neutral

AbbVie and Allergan today announced that Allergan has entered into agreements with AstraZeneca and Nestle to divest Allergan's interests in brazikumab (an…

Jan 27, 2020 Fierce Biotech Neutral

AstraZeneca is taking back rights to brazikumab from Allergan, the British company said Monday, as part of a divestiture package required to close the…

Oct 25, 2021 Fierce Biotech Bearish

AstraZeneca is dropping brazikumab, the experimental IL-23 inhibitor it took back from Allergan as part of the AbbVie-Allergan merger divestiture, after…

Source summaries from our enrichment pipeline; follow links for originals.

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To clear regulatory conditions for AbbVie's Allergan acquisition, Allergan divested global rights to brazikumab back to AstraZeneca (which had originally licensed it in 2016). AstraZeneca regained worldwide development and commercial rights; Allergan funded development costs through completion of Crohn's/UC programs including a companion diagnostic. Outcome: AstraZeneca ultimately discontinued the entire brazikumab IBD development programme on 1 June 2023, citing clinical-trial delays (compounded by global events) and a changed competitive landscape dominated by AbbVie's Skyrizi and Lilly's mirikizumab — with no safety concerns reported. The asset recovered in this 2020 divestiture therefore never reached market.

Did it work? Outcome assessment

Strategic verdict

Failed to Achieve

Financial impact

Neutral

Pipeline outcome

Assets Terminated

Assessment window: 5yr post-close.

Key facts

Announced Jan 27, 2020
Closed Jul 23, 2020
Deal value $250M
Deal type Asset Purchase
Therapeutic area Gastroenterology
Indications Crohn's disease (Phase 2b/3); ulcerative colitis (Phase 2)
Key assets Brazikumab (MEDI2070)
Mechanism Anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibody

Related deals — scored

Deal	Year	Value	Outcome
AstraZeneca PLC / Allergan plc (this deal)	2020	$250M	—
AstraZeneca PLC / Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited	2019	$6.9B	100
AstraZeneca PLC / KuDOS Pharmaceuticals Limited	2005	$210M	98
AstraZeneca PLC / Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.	2020	$39.0B	86
AstraZeneca PLC / Acerta Pharma	2015	$4.0B	86
AstraZeneca PLC / Amgen Inc.	2020	$2.3B	84
AstraZeneca PLC / MedImmune Inc.	2007	$15.6B	82

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More: 2020 deals · AstraZeneca PLC deals · Gastroenterology deals