AstraZeneca strikes $1bn deal to acquire first vaccine company

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AstraZeneca has agreed to buy its first vaccine company in a deal worth up to $1.1bn, as the UK pharma group expands the infectious disease division it set up during the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said on Tuesday that it had struck a deal for Seattle-based Icosavax, which has a potential vaccine for two common respiratory diseases that can cause severe illness in older adults: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus. 

If it succeeds in a phase 3 trial, the vaccine would compete with approved RSV shots from GSK and Pfizer, and potentially one from Moderna. 

AstraZeneca already has expertise in RSV, as the drugmaker, in partnership with Sanofi, sells an antibody that protects infants from the disease.