Source: Finance Association
① AstraZeneca mentioned that the value of this deal is about 1.2 billion US dollars, and Genxi Biotech will continue to operate in China and the US as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca; ② Before the US stock market, Genxi Biotech's stock price once skyrocketed 70%.
$AstraZeneca (AZN.US)$It was announced on Tuesday local time, that's right$Gracell Biotechnologies (GRCL.US)$The proposed acquisition signed a final agreement. The proposed acquisition will add GC012F CAR-T cell therapy to AstraZeneca's ever-expanding cell therapy pipeline. Before the US stock market, Genxi Biotech's stock price once skyrocketed 70%. As of press release, the stock had risen nearly 60%.
GC012f, built on the FastCar technology platform, is an innovative BCMA/CD19 dual-target autochimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) in the clinical stage. It is expected to become a next-generation treatment plan for multiple myeloma, other types of malignant hematologic tumors, and autoimmune diseases (including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)).
The principle of autologous CAR-T cell therapy is to modify the patient's own immune T cells by re-editing them to target pathogenic cells to treat the disease. The FastCar technology platform, on the other hand, can enhance the adaptability of T cells and may improve patient treatment outcomes.
AstraZeneca mentioned that the transaction is worth about 1.2 billion US dollars, and Genxi Biotech will continue to operate in China and the US as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca.
Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will complete the acquisition at a cash price of $2.00 per share (equivalent to $10.00 ADS per share) and pay a cash price of $0.3 per common share (equivalent to $1.5 per share of ADS) when certain regulatory-related milestones are reached.
Susan Galbraith, head of research and development in AstraZeneca's oncology field, said, “The acquisition of Genxi Biotech will further strengthen AstraZeneca's strength in the field of cell therapy and add to our continued investment in this field. Previously, we have constructed CAR-T and TCR-T pipelines for solid tumors.”
Galbraith added that with differentiated production processes, GC012F is expected to provide potentially best-in-class treatment options for hematologic cancer patients, helping the company accelerate the implementation of cell therapy strategies in the field of hematologic oncology. At the same time, we will further explore the clinical potential of cell therapy to achieve immune reset in autoimmune diseases.”
Dr. Cao Wei, founder, chairman and CEO of Genxi Biotech, said, “We look forward to working side by side with AstraZeneca to accelerate the realization of our shared vision of providing transformative cell therapies to more patients in urgent need. By integrating our respective professional capabilities and resource advantages, we hope to unlock a new path to fully realize the value of Genxi Biotech's FastCar next-day production platform. I believe this technology has the potential to greatly optimize the clinical performance of cell therapy and is expected to become a new benchmark for leading the next generation of autologous cell therapy.”
Last month, AstraZeneca signed a licensing agreement with local Chinese biotech company Eccogene (Eccogene) to introduce an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) with a $185 million down payment, a potential drug for the treatment of diabetes, obesity, and other cardiovascular metabolic diseases.
China is AstraZeneca's second largest market after the US. The company's CEO Pascal Sooriot previously stated that AstraZeneca is keen to use China's medical innovation to jointly develop promising and promising drug candidates.
Editor/Corrine