Pharma giant AstraZeneca signs huge deal with UK start-up to develop treatments for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases
Pharma giant AstraZeneca has signed a huge deal with a British start-up to create treatments for diabetes and other autoimmune diseases.
The FTSE 100 company will partner with London-based Quell Therapeutics to collaborate on research and licensing of new drugs.
The aim is to develop treatments for type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease using genetically engineered ‘regulatory T cells’, or ‘Tregs’ for short.
Tregs help prevent the immune system from overreacting in parts of the body affected by disease. Quell’s technology is an extension of therapies that have proven successful in the treatment of cancer.
Astra says it will pay Quell £68 million upfront to help fund the research.
Deal: AstraZeneca to partner with London-based Quell Therapeutics to collaborate on research and licensing of new drugs
The start-up is also eligible to receive more than £1.6bn in development milestone payments and royalties if drugs are approved for sale.
Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceutical research at Astra, said the deal would allow the company to “explore the untapped potential with Treg cell therapies.”
Quell CEO Iain McGill added: ‘This collaboration builds on our pioneering work to develop exquisitely designed, multi-modular Treg cell therapies for immune disorders.’
Quell was founded in 2019 by six immunologists from King’s College London, University College London and Hanover Medical School.
Prior to the deal with Astra, it raised around £175m from a consortium of investors and is valued at around £239m.
A major financier is London-listed company Syncona, a trust that invests in companies focused on cell and gene therapies. The company owns just over a third of Quell.
“Astra’s expertise and capability will play an important role in driving these important programs forward,” said Martin Murphy, who is president of both Syncona and Quell.
News of the collaboration came when Astra announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had voted to recommend the drug nirsevimab as a treatment to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants.
RSV is a common infection that causes cold symptoms. Most people recover within two weeks, but the disease can become severe in infants and older adults and can lead to lung infections and pneumonia.
If approved, nirsevimab will be the first drug specifically designed to protect infants against RSV.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the FDA to complete their expedited review, and hope to see nirsevimab available as soon as possible given the significant burden of RSV in infants,” said Iskra Reic, Astra’s executive vice president of vaccines and immune therapies.