By Yadarisa Shabong

March 19 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said on Tuesday

it will buy clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Fusion

Pharmaceuticals Inc ( FUSN ) for about $2 billion in cash as the

Anglo-Swedish drugmaker bets on next-generation cancer

treatments.

The deal is AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) second this month after it agreed

last week to buy Amolyt Pharma for $1.05 billion to shore up its

rare disease portfolio.

The drugmaker will pay $21 per Fusion share, a premium of

more than 97% to the U.S.-listed company's closing price on

Monday.

Fusion is developing "next-generation" radioconjugates (RCs)

to treat cancer.

RCs deliver a radioactive isotope directly to cancer cells

through precise targeting using molecules and have emerged as a

promising modality in cancer treatment over recent years,

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) said.

Fusion's most advanced programme is the FPI-2265, which is

currently in a mid-stage trial to treat patients with metastatic

castration-resistant prostate cancer.

"Between 30 and 50% of patients with cancer today

receive radiotherapy at some point during treatment, and the

acquisition of Fusion furthers our ambition to transform this

aspect of care with next-generation radioconjugates," said Susan

Galbraith, executive vice president, Oncology R&D at

AstraZeneca ( AZN ).

Radiotherapy and chemotherapy have been the mainstays of

cancer treatment for decades.

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) has been working on other approaches to develop

more targeted cancer treatments, including antibody-drug

conjugates (ADCs) and RCs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved

ADCs in 2000 and radioconjugates in 2018.

AstraZeneca ( AZN ) will also pay a non-transferable contingent

value right of $3 per share, taking the combined transaction

value to about $2.4 billion.

Fusion announced in January that it has aligned with the

FDA on its submitted Phase 2/3 protocol for FPI-2265, with a

Phase 3, or late-stage, registrational trial expected to begin

in 2025.