AstraZeneca to buy fusion for $2 billion

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it will buy Canadian drug developer Fusion Pharmaceuticals for $2 billion in cash as the drugmaker bets on next-generation cancer treatments.

The deal gives AstraZeneca a foothold in the radiopharmaceutical drugs market, which has seen increasing investor interest since 2021 when data from Novartis' treatment showed that the drug extended survival for prostate cancer patients.

The Novartis drug was approved in 2022 and the space has seen a flurry of deals since then, including Eli Lilly's $1.4 billion acquisition of Point Biopharma and Bristol Myers Squibb's $4.1 billion deal for RayzeBio last year.