AstraZeneca to Pay $15.6 Billion for MedImmune

LONDON — Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC, which has been trying to shore up its product pipeline, said today it is buying U.S.-based biotech drug maker MedImmune Inc. for $15.6 billion.

London-based AstraZeneca said it will pay $58 a share for MedImmune, whose shares closed Friday at $48.01.

AstraZeneca said the deal would increase the proportion of biotechnology drugs in its pipeline from 7 percent to 27 percent and enlarge the total pipeline by 45 projects to 163 projects.

MedImmune, based in Gaithersburg, Md., has more than 2,500 employees worldwide, with facilities in Pennsylvania, California, Kentucky, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The company posted $1.28 billion in revenue last year, mostly from its childhood respiratory drug Synagis. MedImmune also makes the inhaled influenza vaccine FluMist.

AstraZeneca also announced a 9.5 percent increase in first- quarter net profit of $1.56 billion. Revenue rose 13 percent to $6.97 billion. Med-Immune, meanwhile, has said it expects earnings nearly to triple when it reports second quarter results in May.

AstraZeneca shares fell 1.5 percent in London today.

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