AstraZeneca has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell therapies with promising early clinical activity. EsoBiotec’s Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform aims to empower the immune system to attack cancers and could offer more patients access to transformative cell therapy treatments in minutes rather than weeks.
The ENaBL platform uses highly targeted lentiviruses to deliver genetic instructions to specific immune cells like T cells, programming them to recognize and destroy tumor cells for cancer treatment or autoreactive cells for immune-mediated diseases. This approach allows cell therapies to be administered via a simple IV injection without the need for immune cell depletion.
Traditional cell therapies require cells to be removed from a patient, genetically modified outside the body, and then readministered after immune cell depletion, typically taking weeks. EsoBiotec’s in vivo approach has the potential to address many barriers associated with traditional cell therapies, reducing complexities and manufacturing timelines, thereby increasing patient access.
Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of Oncology Haematology R&D at AstraZeneca, stated, “We are excited about the acquisition of EsoBiotec and the opportunity to rapidly advance their promising in vivo platform. We believe it has the potential to transform cell therapy and will enable us to scale these innovative treatments so that many more patients around the world can access them.”
Jean-Pierre Latere, CEO of EsoBiotec, added, “We look forward to working with AstraZeneca to advance our shared goal of bringing transformative cost-effective cell therapies to more patients globally.”
EsoBiotec will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations in Belgium. Financial terms include an initial payment of $425 million upon closing and up to $575 million in contingent consideration based on development and regulatory milestones, totaling up to $1 billion. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.
— news from AstraZeneca