AstraZeneca buying drug developer in £30bn deal

AstraZeneca said it is acquiring Boston-based drug developer Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP)

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is to buy US drug developer Alexion in a deal worth almost £30 billion.

Cambridge-based AstraZeneca, which is developing a Covid-19 vaccine, said on Saturday it is using a combination of cash and shares for the acquisition of Boston-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals.