AstraZeneca's Alexion acquisition cleared by European Commission

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that its $39bn proposed acquisition of US drug developer Alexion has been cleared by the European Commission.

This follows clearance in the US, Japan and other countries globally, although regulatory clearance in the UK is pending and remains a requirement to complete the deal.

Executive director and chief financial officer Marc Dunoyer said: "We are pleased to have secured clearance from the European Commission for the proposed acquisition of Alexion, a pioneer in the discovery and development of medicines for rare diseases.

"We are now another step closer to closing the acquisition and combining the two companies to create a leader in immunology and precision medicines. We continue to progress towards the completion of the acquisition during this quarter."

AstraZeneca first announced in December 2020 that it had agreed to buy Alexion.