Astellas in Pact for Cell Therapy

Astellas Pharma’s Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine (AIRM) and Universal Cells,a Seattle-based biotechnology company, have signed an agreement to research, develop, and commercialize a cell therapy for an undisclosed indication.

The collaboration will use Universal Cells’ Universal Donor Cell technology, a recombinant adeno-associated virus technology, to create cell-therapy products that can be administered to any recipient without the need for human leukocyte antigen matching.

While the research will be conducted jointly by AIRM and Universal Cells, Astellas will lead and fully fund the development program and will obtain worldwide rights for commercialization. Under the agreement, Universal Cells is eligible to receive up to $9 million in a combination of an upfront payment and research milestones. Universal Cells is also eligible to receive research funding and further clinical development and regulatory milestone payments of up to $115 million as well as royalties.

Source: Astellas Pharma

 

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