As­traZeneca en­lists UK Treg biotech for type 1 di­a­betes, in­flam­ma­to­ry bow­el dis­ease deal fea­tur­ing $85M up­front

As­traZeneca is part­ner­ing with Quell Ther­a­peu­tics to de­vel­op reg­u­la­to­ry T cell ther­a­pies for type 1 di­a­betes and in­flam­ma­to­ry bow­el dis­ease, join­ing the grow­ing move­ment of com­pa­nies and aca­d­e­m­ic groups de­vel­op­ing cell ther­a­pies for au­toim­mune dis­eases.

As­traZeneca will pay Quell, a Lon­don-based biotech, $85 mil­lion up­front, with a po­ten­tial $2 bil­lion on the line in down­stream mile­stones, plus roy­al­ties. The duo will work to­geth­er on de­vel­op­ing two reg­u­la­to­ry T cell ther­a­pies (or Treg ther­a­pies), both of which are still pre­clin­i­cal. Quell is in charge of man­u­fac­tur­ing the ther­a­pies un­til the end of the first clin­i­cal tri­als, af­ter which As­traZeneca has the op­tion to li­cense, de­vel­op and com­mer­cial­ize the treat­ments.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER