Astellas Pharma, a Japanese multinational pharmaceutical company, completed the acquisition of iota Biosciences, a biotechnology company, for $127.5m. Upon completion of the transaction, iota will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to occur during the third quarter of Astellas’ fiscal year. “I believe that iota’s technology is a promising core technology that can be applied not only to the current programs we are working on, but to broader types of diseases that have yet to be worked on. I expect that the combination of their capabilities with our strength cultivated through our Rx business will become a strong basis to further drive our Rx+® business,” Kenji Yasukawa, Astellas President and CEO.