UNITED KINGDOM — AstraZeneca is set to acquire biotechnology company Neogene Therapeutics for up to US$320 million as it seeks to build its pipeline of cell-based cancer treatments.
Though AstraZeneca’s oncology portfolio accounted for more than a third of the company’s revenue last year, it does not have an approved cell-based cancer therapy and is behind rivals such as Novartis and Gilead.
The British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant earlier this month had three new cancer drugs recommended for approval in the European Union as it shifts efforts away from tackling the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Neogene’s leading (T-cell receptor) discovery capabilities and extensive manufacturing experience complement the cell therapy capability we have built over the last three years,” said Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca’s executive vice president of oncology research.
Cell-based treatments are a relatively new approach to treating cancer, most of which involve drawing the body’s own immune cells and processing them in the lab to target and kill cancer cells.
T-cell receptor therapies (TCR-Ts) are emerging therapies to treat cancer. Most current cell therapy approaches for oncology focus on modifying the immune system’s T cells to recognize proteins on the surface of cancer cells.
However, TCR-Ts recognize intracellular targets, including cancer-specific mutations. This could potentially unlock targets previously inaccessible with cell therapies.
Neogene’s approach goes one step further in that its experimental T-cell receptor therapies seek to target DNA mutations specific to tumors, not only certain proteins on the surface of cancer cells.
Neogene develops and manufactures personalized TCR therapies in addition to TCR therapies targeting shared neoantigens, including mutated KRAS (mKRAS) and mutated TP53 (mTP53).
The mutations lead to a K-Ras protein that is more overactive than mutations that cause cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome.
Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome is a disorder that affects many parts of the body, particularly the heart (cardio-), facial features (facio-), and the skin and hair (cutaneous).
People with this condition also have delayed development and intellectual disability, usually ranging from moderate to severe.
According to MedlinePlus, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Library of Medicine, these mutations are strongly involved in several cancers, including pancreatic and colorectal cancers.
“Our expertise, clinical portfolio, and platform technologies in this area combined with AstraZeneca’s leadership in oncology and global footprint mean we are well-positioned to translate pioneering science into novel treatments for hard-to-treat cancers,” said Neogene Chief Executive Carsten Linnemann.
Linnemann founded Neogene in the Netherlands in 2018 along with the Netherlands Cancer Institute’s Ton Schumacher. It has headquarters in Amsterdam and Santa Monica, California.
AstraZeneca will make an initial payment of US$200 million to Neogene, with a further $120 million dependent on the company meeting certain targets.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said the deal does not affect its full-year financial guidance and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2023.
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