Partnering News: AstraZeneca, AbbVie & More
A roundup of bio/pharmaceutical partnering news from AstraZeneca/Quell Therapeutics and AbbVie/M42/Government of United Arab Emirates.
* AstraZeneca, Quell In Cell-Therapy Pact Worth up to $2-Bn
* AbbVie Partners with Gov’t of United Arab Emirates and Healthcare Company M42 for Personalized Medicines
AstraZeneca, Quell In Cell-Therapy Pact Worth up to $2-Bn
AstraZeneca and Quell Therapeutics, a London-based bio/pharmaceutical company focused on cell-therapies, have entered into a collaboration and exclusive option and license agreement to develop, manufacture, and commercialize autologous, engineered Treg cell therapies for two autoimmune disease indications, in a deal worth up to $2 billion ($85 million upfront and $2 billion in milestone payments).
Under the agreement, Quell’s T-regulatory (Treg) cell engineering modules will be used to develop autologous multi-modular Treg cell therapy candidates for Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). AstraZeneca will have the option to further develop and commercialize successful candidates, with Quell responsible for the process development and manufacturing of clinical candidates through to the end of the first-in-human clinical study.
Quell will receive $85 million upfront from AstraZeneca, which comprises a predominant cash payment and an equity investment. Quell is also eligible to receive over $2 billion for further development and commercialization milestones, if successful, plus tiered royalties. In addition, Quell retains an option, which can be exercised either after approval of an Investigational new drug (IND) application or at the end of the Phase I/II clinical study, to co-develop Treg cell therapies from the T1D program with AstraZeneca in the US in exchange for additional milestone payments and increased royalties on US net sales.
Source: Quell Therapeutics
AbbVie Partners with Gov’t of United Arab Emirates and Healthcare Company M42 for Personalized Medicines
AbbVie has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi, the regulatory body of healthcare sector in the United Arab Emirates, and M42, an Abu Dhabi-based healthcare company, for personalized medicines for treating multiple myeloma and non-small cell lung cancer. As part of its preventive healthcare efforts, the Department of Health–Abu Dhabi launched the region’s first Personalized Precision Medicine Program for oncology in 2022. The program integrates predictive, personalized, and precision medicine using genomics.
