AstraZeneca Expands Cell Therapy Portfolio with $1B EsoBiotec Acquisition

AstraZeneca has made a significant move into the "off-the-shelf" cell therapy space, announcing a $1 billion deal to acquire Belgian biotech EsoBiotec. The acquisition, which includes an upfront payment of $425 million and up to $575 million in developmental and regulatory milestones, gives AstraZeneca access to EsoBiotec's innovative lentiviral vector platform.

EsoBiotec's Groundbreaking Technology

At the heart of this acquisition is EsoBiotec's Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform. This technology uses lentiviruses to deliver genetic instructions to T cells, enabling them to recognize and destroy tumor cells for cancer treatment or potentially autoreactive cells for immune-mediated diseases. The resulting cell therapies can be administered via a simple intravenous injection, offering a significant advantage over traditional autologous cell therapies.

Susan Galbraith, Ph.D., executive vice president for oncology hematology R&D at AstraZeneca, highlighted the platform's potential, stating, "It can offer scalability to a much larger number of patients who can have access to this transformative cell therapy treatment, and the delivery of the treatment can happen in just minutes rather than the many-weeks process, which is the current reality."

Strategic Expansion of AstraZeneca's Cell Therapy Portfolio

This acquisition marks a strategic expansion of AstraZeneca's cell therapy portfolio. The company currently has seven cell therapy programs in clinical trials, including a BCMA and CD19 dual-targeting CAR-T for multiple myeloma, acquired through its 2023 Gracell acquisition. The addition of EsoBiotec's technology allows AstraZeneca to leverage its existing autologous programs and rapidly scale them into the off-the-shelf platform.

EsoBiotec's lead program, targeting BCMA, is already in clinical trials. While only a few patients have been treated so far, AstraZeneca was impressed by early data presented at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which demonstrated "really quite impressive cell kinetics," according to Galbraith.

The Promise of Lentiviral Vectors in Cell Therapy

Lentiviral vectors have garnered significant interest in the cell therapy field due to their ability to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells, as well as their low cytotoxicity rate. This technology has already shown promise in approved treatments such as Orchard Therapeutics' Libmeldy for metachromatic leukodystrophy and bluebird bio's Zynteglo for sickle cell disease.

Jean-Pierre Latere, Ph.D., CEO of EsoBiotech, emphasized the company's mission: "Making in vivo cell therapies much more accessible, more effective and really affordable for patients." This aligns well with AstraZeneca's goal of expanding access to transformative cell therapies.