AstraZeneca Buys ZS Pharma

To bolster its portfolio of chronic kidney disease treatments, AstraZeneca is paying roughly $2.7 billion to acquire ZS Pharma. With the deal, AstraZeneca gains ZS-9, a small molecule currently under FDA review as a treatment for hyperkalemia, or dangerously high potassium levels in the bloodstream of people with chronic kidney disease and chronic heart failure. FDA is expected to weigh in on ZS-9, a zirconium silicate that mimics natural ion channels to trap excess potassium ions, by May 2016. The firm believes ZS-9 could reach peak annual sales of more than $1 billion.