AstraZeneca acquires EsoBiotec in $1 bn deal

British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZenica on Monday announced the acquisition of biotechnology company EsoBiotech in a $1 billion transaction, bolstering its cell therapy capabilities.

AstraZenica’s acquisition of EsoBiotec will give it access to the Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform, a revolutionry form of cell therapy that allows administration of cell therapies through a simple intravenous injection. This novel approach, called in vivo delivery system, makes the process significantly quicker than traditional methods that require weeks for cell modification outside the patient’s body.

EsoBiotec’s ENaBL platform is intended to address traditional cell therapy challenges, such as complexity and prolonged manufacturing timelines. It is designed to programme immune cells like T cells to recognise and eliminate cancer or autoreactive cells.

According to Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of Oncology Haematology R&D at AstraZeneca, the deal could help expand the scope of cell therapy and make these treatments availabe globally.

EsoBiotec CEO Jean-Pierre Latere also said the merger will help bring cost-effective cell therapies to more patients worldwide.

As per the agreement, AstraZenica will make an initial payment of $425 million upon closing, with commitment of an additional $575 million on achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones. 

AstraZeneca, with annual revenue of $54.07 billion and and moderate debt levels, said the acquisition will not impact its 2025 financial guidance.

The transaction, which makes EsoBiotek a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZenica, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, according to an SEC filing.

In another development, AstraZeneca has entered into a licensing agreement with South Korea-based biopharmaceutical company, Alteogen Inc, for its novel hyaluronidase, ALT-B4, to develop and commercialise subcutaneous formulations of several oncology assets

Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca will acquire global rights to use ALT-B4 for developing and commercialising these formulations while Alteogen will supply ALT-B4 to AstraZeneca for clinical and commercial applications.

ALT-B4 is Alteogen’s proprietary human recombinant hyaluronidase enzyme that can be used for administering large volume subcutaneous drugs that are mostly administered through IV infusion. ALT-B4 does this by temporarily hydrolyzing hyaluronan in the extracellular matrix.

AstraZeneca will make an upfront payment to Alteogen and additional payments upon achievement of specific development, regulatory and sales-related milestones. Additionally, Alteogen will receive royalties on the sales of the commercialised products.

Alteogen Inc is focused on the development and commercialisation of novel biologics such as Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs), biobetters, and biosimilars.