# Alexion Pharmaceuticals

Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a Rare Disease / Biopharmaceutical based in Boston, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Rare Disease / Biopharmaceutical
- **Headquarters:** Boston, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Boston, MA, United States
- **Founded:** 1992
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** alexion.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/alexion-pharmaceuticals

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company based in Boston, United States, established in 1992. The company focuses on developing treatments for rare and devastating diseases. It has secured approximately $26.95 million in total funding.

## Sectors

- Healthcare Services
- Biotechnology

## Offices

- New York, NY, United States
- Cambridge, United Kingdom
- London, United Kingdom

## People

- Leonard Bell — Founder
- Marc Dunoyer — CEO

## Questions

### What was Alexion's core therapeutic focus?

Alexion focused exclusively on complement-mediated rare diseases, developing drugs like Soliris (eculizumab) and Ultomiris (ravulizumab) for conditions such as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (per FDA labeling).

### Why did AstraZeneca acquire Alexion?

AstraZeneca acquired Alexion in July 2021 for $39B to gain entry into the rare-disease market. The acquisition combined Alexion's complement biology platform with AstraZeneca's global infrastructure. AstraZeneca now operates Alexion as its Rare Disease unit (per AstraZeneca, July 2021).

### How did Alexion generate revenue before the AstraZeneca acquisition?

Alexion's primary revenue came from Soliris and later Ultomiris. Soliris was one of the world's most expensive drugs, costing approximately $500,000 per patient annually in the US. Revenue peaked at over $4B annually before patent expirations (per Alexion annual reports).

### Who were Alexion's major institutional investors?

Prior to the acquisition, Alexion's largest shareholders included asset managers like Vanguard, BlackRock, and Fidelity, as well as hedge fund Baker Bros. Advisors. The firm was publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the ticker ALXN until July 2021.

## Related profiles

- [Virtru](https://altss.com/profile/virtru-corporation)

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

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