Astellas in $50m allogeneic CAR-T deal with Poseida

Astellas receives the rights to negotiation and first refusal for allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy, P-MUC1C-ALLO1, as it takes an 8.8% stake in Poseida Therapeutics.

Astellas Pharma will invest $25 million to own 8.8% of common stock of cell and gene therapy (CGT) firm Poseida Therapeutics. Additionally, Astellas will make a one-time payment of an additional $25 million to gain the rights of exclusive negotiation and first refusal to license chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy P-MUC1C-ALLO1, which is in Phase I development to treat various solid tumor indications.

Furthermore, Poseida has given Astellas a board observer seat, which allows the firm to attend Poseida’s scientific advisory board meetings, as well as granting them specific notice rights concerning any possible change of control of Poseida.

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“The investment from Astellas is not restricted in any form and it will be used for general corporate purposes. With this investment we have extended our cash runway into early 2025 as we continue to generate additional clinical data from our ongoing allogeneic trials, P-BCMA-ALLO1 and P-MUC1C-ALLO1,” a spokesperson for Poseida told BioProcess Insider.

“We also recently received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for our IND on P-CD19CD20-ALLO1, which we believe is the first dual targeted allogeneic program to receive such clearance and expect to report initial data on that program in 2024.”

According to Astellas, one of its primary focuses is on immuno-oncology and it is aiming to develop immuno-oncology drugs using different multi-functional platforms.

“By leveraging our extensive expertise, experience in cancer biology and unique technologies, we are focused on reinvigorating the immune system’s ability to discover, disarm and destroy cancers in more patients,” said Adam Pearson, chief strategy officer, Astellas.

“We are pursuing this ambitious goal through innovative and multifunctional modality platforms, using the capabilities at our global R&D sites as well as through partnership with external expert partners. We believe that this investment fits strategically with our long-term vision of expanding our capability in immuno-oncology and will ultimately lead to the development of new therapeutics for patients in need of cancer immunotherapy.”

The investment follows Astellas’ $5.9 billion bid to acquire Iveric Bio in May. Through the acquisition, the firm will add various ophthalmology treatments. Once the deal closes, New Jersey-based Iveric Bio will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Astellas.