In an announcement, AstraZeneca would be acquiring Omthera Pharmaceuticals for the price of US$443 million to boost its cardiovascular drug business. This is one of the areas of priority identified by the British firm as it expands its business worldwide.
Omthera Pharma is a US based company that focuses on the medicinal use of fish oil derivatives. This is a clear indication of the focus by the company's new CEO Pascal Soriot on reviving the fortunes of AstraZeneca through many scheduled acquisitions in the future.
This is the second acquisition for the firm specifically in the cardiovascular field of medication. Last month, it had purchased AlphaCore Pharma, another American biotechnology company.
With the new acquisition, it places AstraZeneca in the level of its known competitors as GlaxoSmithKline, which also has its own line of fish oil derived drugs.
Omthera's formulation, when combined with its cholesterol management drug Crestor, would provide a perfect complement to the drug firm's cardiovascular portfolio.
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