AZ mum on Acerta acquisition rumor

AstraZeneca plc (LSE:AZN; NYSE:AZN) declined to comment on media reports that it is in talks to acquire Acerta Pharma B.V. (Oss, the Netherlands) in a deal worth more than $5 billion. Acerta did not respond to inquiries.

This week, researchers reported data from a Phase I/II trial of Acerta's acalabrutinib ( ACP-196) that suggest the Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) inhibitor could pose a challenge to Imbruvica ibrutinib from AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ). Acalabrutinib led to a 95% overall response rate (ORR) in 61 patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Patients in the trial did not report cases of atrial fibrillation or major bleeding events, unlike patients historically treated with Imbruvica (see BioCentury Extra, Dec. 8). ...