AstraZeneca To Buy Belgium's Cell Therapy Firm EsoBiotec In Up To $1 Bln Deal

(RTTNews) - British drug major AstraZeneca Plc (AZN, AZN.L) announced Monday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a biotechnology company, for a total consideration of up to $1 billion, on a cash and debt free basis.

The consideration includes an initial payment of $425 million on deal closing, and up to $575 million in contingent consideration based on development and regulatory milestones.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances. Following the deal closure, EsoBiotec will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations in Belgium.

AstraZeneca said the acquisition does not impact its financial guidance for 2025.

EsoBiotec focuses on vivo delivery platform with potential to transform cell therapy.

The EsoBiotec Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral or ENaBL platform empowers the immune system to attack cancers. It could offer many more patients access to transformative cell therapy treatments delivered in just minutes rather than the current process which takes weeks.

Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President, Oncology Haematology R&D, AstraZeneca, said, "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. EsoBiotec will accelerate and expand the impact of our recent investments and marks a major step forward in realising our ambition to harness the full potential of cell therapy."

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