AstraZeneca confirms talks with Dutch firm Acerta Pharma

AstraZeneca has confirmed it is in talks with privately held cancer drug developer Acerta Pharma.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that AstraZeneca was looking to acquire Acerta for more than $5 billion.

“AstraZeneca confirmed that it is exploring potential strategic options with Acerta Pharma. There can be no certainty that any transaction will ultimately be entered into, or as to the terms of any transaction,” it said in a brief statement.

Netherlands based-Acerta is developing cancer drugs that use the body’s own defenses against the disease.

The company last week reported that 95 percent of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia positively responded to its experimental drug acalabrutinib.

AstraZeneca has been trying to boost its pipeline recently as sales of the company’s top-selling drugs have faltered.

Reuters