AstraZeneca Expands Oncology Portfolio with $320 Million Neogene Acquisition

Branching further into the cell therapy space, AstraZeneca announced its plans to acquire T-cell receptor therapy (TCR-T)-focused Neogene Therapeutics for $200 million upfront. The companies expect the deal to close in the first quarter of 2023, when Neogene will act as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca.

What Neogene Brings to the Table

Founded in 2018 by a group of seasoned cell therapy scientists, Neogene is quickly rising to the forefront of the cell therapy field with its TCR-T-focused approach. Rather than modifying T-cells to recognize cell surface proteins, Neogene says TCR-Ts can recognize intracellular targets, including cancer-specific mutations. Getting under the surface could unlock targets inaccessible by standard cell therapies. 

In May, the Dutch regulatory authority approved Neogene’s lead candidate, NT-125’s clinical trial application, marking the transition to a clinical-stage company. Neogene kept most of the pertinent details about the therapy to itself, saying the trial would enroll adult patients with various types of solid tumors. Besides that, Neogene said the therapy is an investigational, autologous, fully individualized, multi-specific TCR-T.

For the time being, Neogene is also keeping the rest of its preclinical pipeline under wraps. Still, key characteristics of the platform and technology behind the promising TCR-T remain a mystery to the public. 

Neogene’s CEO, Carsten Linnemann, Ph.D., said, “We are excited to work together with AstraZeneca towards our shared mission of transforming the treatment options for patients with solid tumors using next-generation T-cell receptor therapies. Our expertise, clinical portfolio, and platform technologies in this area combined with AstraZeneca’s leadership in oncology and global footprint means we are well-positioned to translate pioneering science into novel treatments for hard-to-treat cancers.”

AstraZeneca will pay $200 million upfront upon closing the deal. Neogene stands to make another $120 million, potentially bringing the total to $320 million contingent upon milestone and non-contingent consideration. 

Related Article: Potential $1 billion Acquisition of TeneoTwo by AstraZeneca comes to Fruition

Leveraging AstraZeneca’s Extensive Oncology Expertise

With blockbusters like Enhertu, Lynparza, and Tagrisso, AstraZeneca’s oncology experience will be invaluable in the Neogene acquisition. It will also allow AstraZeneca to expand its oncology portfolio and get in on the ground floor of TCR-Ts. 

Executive Vice President of Oncology R&D at AstraZeneca, Susan Galbraith, said, “Neogene’s leading TCR discovery capabilities and extensive manufacturing experience complement the cell therapy capability we have built over the last three years and allow us to accelerate the development of potentially curative cell therapies for the benefit of patients.”

The Neogene acquisition is big news for AstraZeneca, but it only marks the second big oncology acquisition this year. In August, the company announced it completed its acquisition of TeneoTwo, a clinical-stage company focused on B-cell hematologic malignancies. AstraZeneca sunk $100 million into an upfront payment with the potential for an additional $1.1 billion in milestone payments. 

Neogene’s TCR-T program is intriguing, to say the least, and AstraZeneca also seems excited about it, with a potential $320 million acquisition of the company. Hopefully, as time goes on, Neogene will reveal more about the inner workings of its mysterious technology that could potentially shift oncology and cell therapies as we know them. 

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Author

Reed Slater