AstraZeneca (AZN) shares climbed more than 4% in early trading on Friday after the company reported higher-than-expected revenue on strong sales of its cancer drugs and said it would acquire Pfizer’s (PFE) rare disease gene therapy portfolio.

Alexion, AstraZeneca's rare disease arm, said it will buy Pfizer's portfolio of pre-clinical gene therapies for up to $1 billion, plus tiered royalties on sales. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023.

The move is expected to strengthen the British pharmaceutical giant's capabilities in genomic medicine, for which it also bought LogicBio last year at a 660% premium for $68 million.

AstraZeneca's Buying Spree Boosts Its Portfolio

Earlier this year, AstraZeneca acquired CinCor Pharma, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, for $1.3 billion to boost its development of treatments for hypertension and chronic kidney disease. AstraZeneca also bought Alexion in December 2020 for $39 billion to enhance its presence in immunology, through which it could develop medicines for rare diseases.

Cancer Drug Sales Help Make U🍎p for Fall in COVID Vaccine 🎀Revenue

Despite falling sales of COVID-19 vaccines and medicines, double-digit revenue growth in other areas such as its cancer drugs helped AstraZeneca offset that decline. AstraZeneca's revenue was up 6% to $11.4 billion, more than the $10.97 billion analysts forecast. Adjusted profit per share was 25% higher at $2.15, above the $1.98 expected.