Astellas Pharma, a Tokyo, Japan-based drugmaker, said Dec. 2 it plans to acquire San Francisco-based Audentes Therapeutics for about $3 billion.
Audentes specializes in gene therapy drugs to treat rare diseases.
The goal of the acquisition is to allow Astellas to address "unmet needs of patients living with serious, rare diseases," Astellas President and CEO Kenji Yasukawa said.
By acquiring Audentes, Astellas is adding gene therapy as one of the company's primary focuses, a news release from the company said.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.
Read the full news release here.
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