Gout is the new black but will Ardea appease AstraZeneca investors?
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
AstraZeneca's planned $1.26 billion acquisition of Ardea Biosciences, following hot on the heels of Takeda's announced purchase of URL Pharma, has highlighted the growing interest in the gout market. Once seen as an unpromising area dominated by decades-old treatments, big pharma had previously shown little interest in developing new products for the condition. However, current treatments leave many sufferers in need of better options, and big pharma, having to work harder for its money now that the days of sitting back and raking in the cash on one or two major patented primary care products, appears to be waking up to the fact that gout might be useful to it after all.