AstraZeneca has upped its stake in Cellectis, announcing Monday it's acquired another $140 million in the French cell therapy developer's shares as part of a previously announced deal to develop genetic medicines for a wide range of diseases.
Per deal terms, the British drugmaker is buying 28,000,000 Cellectis shares at $5 apiece, a roughly 67% premium to the company's $2.99 closing price Friday. The deal gives AstraZeneca a 44% stake in Cellectis. Mark Dunoyer, the head of AstraZeneca's rare disease division, and Tyrell Rivers, its executive director of corporate development, have also now joined Cellectis' board.
The investment is part of a partnership agreement AstraZeneca and Cellectis struck last November. AstraZeneca made an $80 million equity investment at the same price, as well as a $25 million cash payment, to start the deal. But the second tranche of the investment announced Monday was subject to approvals from regulators as well as Cellectis employees and shareholders.
The deal is a broad alliance to develop up to 10 gene and cell therapies for cancer, immunology and rare diseases. For each of those programs, Cellectis could receive an unspecified option fee and from $70 million up to $220 million in potential milestone payments.
The partnership represents a financial boost for Cellectis, which has lost nearly all its share value since going public in the U.S. in 2015. The company specializes in donor-derived, or “allogeneic” cell therapies for cancer, and over the years has forged partnerships with fellow French drugmaker Servier as well as U.S.-based Pfizer spinout Allogene.
Allogeneic therapies are seen as potentially convenient alternatives to the personalized cell therapies made from individual patient cells. But they’ve had trouble matching the results personalized treatments produced in blood cancers, leading some developers — among them Cellectis’ partner Allogene — to change development plans or pivot to autoimmune disease research.
In a note to clients, Baird analyst Jack Allen said completion of the deal was “positive” because it will underwrite Cellectis’ operations through at least 2026. Cellectis also doesn’t have to use its own funds to work on the drugs involved in the deal.
For AstraZeneca, meanwhile, the alliance is a part of a recent push into genetic medicine. Since 2022, the company has acquired Neogene Therapeutics and Gracell Biotechnologies, and formed partnerships with Quell Therapeutics, AbelZeta and Cellectis. It’s also acquired gene editing biotech LogicBio as well as early-stage gene therapy programs and related technologies from Pfizer.