AstraZeneca acquired Neogene Therapeutics, a Santa Monica, CA and Amsterdam, Netherlands-based clinical-stage biotechnology company.
AstraZeneca will acquire all outstanding equity of Neogene Therapeutics for a total consideration of up to $320m, on a cash and debt free basis. This will include an initial payment of $200m on deal closing, and a further up to $120m in both contingent, milestones-based and non-contingent consideration.
The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. Upon completion of the transaction, Neogene will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, with operations in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and Santa Monica, California, USA.
With the acquisition, AstraZeneca aims to give access to next-generation T-cell receptor therapies with promising potential for targeting solid tumors.
Led by CEO Carsten Linnemann, Neogene Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and manufacturing of transformative TCR therapies targeting neoantigens in solid cancers. The company offers a pipeline of individualized TCR therapies as well as TCR therapies targeting shared neoantigens, including mutated KRAS (mKRAS) and mutated TP53 (mTP53).
TCR-Ts are emerging as a promising therapeutic modality in cancer treatment. Most current cell therapy approaches in oncology focus on modifying the immune system’s T cells to recognize proteins expressed on the surface of cancer cells. In contrast, TCR-Ts can recognize intracellular targets, including cancer-specific mutations, thereby potentially unlocking targets previously inaccessible using cell therapies.
Neogene was founded by cell therapy veterans Linnemann, Ton Schumacher, PhD, Chairman of Neogene’s Scientific Advisory Board and Principal Investigator at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Oncode Institute in partnership with Two River, and cell therapy industry veteran Arie Belldegrun, MD, founder of Kite Pharma, Inc. and Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. as well as key investments from Vida Ventures, TPG, EcoR1 Capital, Jeito Capital, Syncona, Polaris Partners and Pontifax.
FinSMEs
29/11/2022