AstraZeneca will invest $245 million in French biotech Cellectis

According to CHEManager news on November 2, the British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca signed a cooperation investment agreement with the French clinical-stage biotechnology company Cellectis to accelerate the development of oncology, immunology and rare disease therapies. AstraZeneca will use Cellectis' proprietary gene editing technology and manufacturing capabilities to develop novel cell and gene therapy products. As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will gain exclusive rights to 25 genetic targets, with more than 10 drug candidates in development.

“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, CEO of Cellectis, said: “AstraZeneca's innovative drug development and commercialization capabilities are a perfect fit with Cellectis's direction. This collaboration allows both parties to leverage advances in gene editing and cell therapies. Our pioneering research and cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities provide patients with more potential treatments."

According to the agreement, AstraZeneca is expected to pay an initial payment of US$105 million to Cellectis in the fourth quarter of 2023, including an upfront payment of US$25 million and an equity investment of US$80 million.

AstraZeneca said the initial equity investment was US$80 million, equivalent to about 22% of Cellectis' equity. An additional $140 million in equity investment is expected to be completed in early 2024. After the investment is completed, AstraZeneca will hold approximately 44% of Cellectis' total equity. Under the terms of the research collaboration, Cellectis will also receive investigational new drug (IND) option fees, milestone payments and tiered royalties.