HQ Team
November 1, 2023: AstraZeneca signed a $245 million deal with a French clinical-stage biotechnology firm, Cellectis, to speed up therapeutics in oncology, immunology and rare diseases.
AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company, will leverage Cellectis proprietary gene editing technologies and manufacturing capabilities, to design novel cell and gene therapy products.
“As part of the agreement, 25 genetic targets have been exclusively reserved for AstraZeneca, from which up to 10 candidate products could be explored for development,” according to an AstraZeneca statement.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Cellectis will receive an initial payment of $105 million from AstraZeneca, which comprises a $25 million upfront cash payment under the terms of a research collaboration agreement and an $80 million equity investment.
44% stake in Cellectis
The initial equity investment of $80 million, at $5/share, represents an equity stake of 22% in Cellectis
A further $140 million equity investment, at $5/share, is expected to close in early 2024.
Post-closing of the second investment, AstraZeneca will hold a total equity stake of 44% in Cellectis. AstraZeneca expects to treat its investment in Cellectis as an associate.
Cellectis is also eligible to receive an investigational new drug (IND) option fee and development, regulatory and sales-related milestone payments, ranging from $70m up to $220m, per each of the 10 candidate products, plus tiered royalties.
AstraZeneca retains an option for a worldwide exclusive license for the candidate products developed under the research collaboration agreement, to be exercised before IND filing, according to the statement.
Marc Dunoyer, Chief Strategy Officer, AstraZeneca, and Chief Executive Officer, Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease, said: “The differentiated capabilities Cellectis has in gene editing and manufacturing complement our in-house expertise and investments made in the past year.
“AstraZeneca continues to advance our ambition in cell therapy for oncology and autoimmune diseases as well as in genomic medicine, which has potential to be transformative for patients with rare diseases.”
André Choulika, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Cellectis, said the collaboration would further the company’s “ambition to bring potentially life-saving therapies to patients with unmet medical need.”
