17 March 2025
AstraZeneca to acquire EsoBiotec to advance
cell therapy ambition
Acquisition includes world-leading in vivo
delivery platform with potential to transform cell
therapy
AstraZeneca has entered into a definitive
agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a biotechnology company pioneering
in vivo cell therapies that has demonstrated promising early
clinical activity. The EsoBiotec Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral
(ENaBL) platform empowers the immune system to attack cancers and
could offer many more patients access to transformative cell
therapy treatments delivered in just minutes rather than the
current process which takes weeks.
ENaBL uses highly targeted lentiviruses
to deliver genetic instructions to specific immune cells, such as T
cells, which programme them to recognise and destroy
tumour cells for cancer treatment or autoreactive cells for
potential use in immune-mediated diseases. This approach
enables cell therapies to be administered through a simple
IV injection and without the need for immune cell
depletion.
Traditional cell therapies require cells to be
removed from a patient, genetically modified outside the body, and
then readministered to the patient as a medicine after immune cell
depletion, typically taking weeks. By engineering immune cells
directly within the patients body, the EsoBiotec in vivo approach
has the potential to address many of the barriers associated with
traditional cell therapies, reducing complexities and manufacturing
timelines, thereby increasing access for patients.
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President,
Oncology Haematology R&D, AstraZeneca, said: We are excited
about the acquisition of EsoBiotec and the opportunity to rapidly
advance their promising in vivo platform. We believe it has the
potential to transform cell therapy and will enable us to scale
these innovative treatments so that many more patients around the
world can access them. EsoBiotec will accelerate and
expand the impact of our recent investments and marks a major step
forward in realising our ambition to harness the full potential of
cell therapy.
Jean-Pierre Latere, CEO, EsoBiotec, said: We
look forward to working with AstraZeneca, a global leader in drug
development, to advance our shared goal of bringing transformative
cost-effective cell therapies to more patients globally. By
combining our expertise and resources, we can accelerate the
development of our in vivo platform which has a novel delivery
technology we believe will have broad therapeutic
applicability.
EsoBiotec will become a wholly
owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations in
Belgium.
Financial considerations
AstraZeneca will acquire all outstanding equity of
EsoBiotecfor a total consideration of up to $1bn, on a
cash and debt free basis. This will include an initial payment of
$425m on deal closing, and up to $575m in contingent consideration
based on development and regulatory milestones.
The transaction is expected to close in the second
quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and
regulatory clearances. The transaction does not impact AstraZenecas
financial guidance for 2025.
Notes
About EsoBiotec
EsoBiotec is a leading in vivo cell
therapy company with the mission to make these innovative
treatments more accessible, effective and affordable. By
engineering immune cells directly within the patients body,
EsoBiotec is eliminating the barriers of traditional cell therapies
and unlocking new possibilities for oncology and immune-mediated
diseases.
EsoBiotecs proprietary ENaBL platform redefines
adoptive cell therapy, enabling single IV, off-the-shelf treatments
that reduce costs, improve patient experience, eliminate the need
for immune cell depletion and have the potential to
improve efficacy and safety through advanced lentiviral vector
technology. The vector has modifications which deliver specificity
to immune cells, such as T cells, and also enable the vector to
evade rapid elimination by the patients immune
system.
AstraZeneca in cell therapy
AstraZenecas ambition is to realise the full
potential of cell therapies. It is focused on empowering the immune
system to attack cancers, reset the underlying drivers of
immune-mediated diseases to return patients to health, and provide
transformative solutions with curative potential for people living
with rare diseases. To achieve this, the Company is building
world-class cell therapy capabilities and advancing a broad
pipeline of cell therapies, enabled by technologies including
chimeric antigen receptor T-cells (CAR T), T-cell receptor
therapies (TCR T) and CAR T regulatory (CAR Tregs)
cells.
AstraZeneca in oncology
AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology
with the ambition to provide cures for cancer in every form,
following the science to understand cancer and all its complexities
to discover, develop and deliver life-changing medicines to
patients.
The Company's focus is on some of the most
challenging cancers. It is through persistent innovation that
AstraZeneca has built one of the most diverse portfolios and
pipelines in the industry, with the potential to catalyse changes
in the practice of medicine and transform the patient
experience.
AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer
care and, one day, eliminate cancer as a cause of death.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global,
science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the
discovery, development, and commercialisation of prescription
medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals,
including Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory
& Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZenecas innovative
medicines are sold in more than 125 countries and used by millions
of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the
Company on social media @AstraZeneca.
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Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC