CSL Behring has agreed to acquire Calimmune, a Tucson, Arizona-headquartered biotechnology company, in a deal worth up to $416 million ($91 million upfront and $325 million in milestones). Calimmune is focused on the development of ex vivo hematopoietic stem-(HSC) gene therapy and has research and development facilities in Pasadena, California and Sydney, Australia-

In addition to an upfront payment of $91 million, the agreement includes the potential for performance- based milestone payments of up to $325 million over a period of eight years or more following the closing of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close within the next two weeks, subject to the satisfaction of various closing conditions.

The acquisition will provide CSL Behring with Calimmune’s preclinical asset, CAL-H, an HSC gene therapy for treating sickle-cell disease and β-thalassemia.

Additionally, CSL Behring will acquire Calimmune’s two proprietary platform technologies, Select+ and Cytegrity. These technologies are designed to address some of the challenges currently associated with the commercialization of stem-cell therapies, including the ability to manufacture consistent, high-quality products and to improve engraftment, efficacy, and tolerability.

Source: CSL Behring