FORM 6-K
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Report
of Foreign Issuer
Pursuant
to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the
month of March 2025
Commission
File Number: 001-11960
AstraZeneca PLC
1
Francis Crick Avenue
Cambridge
Biomedical Campus
Cambridge
CB2 0AA
United
Kingdom
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by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual
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AstraZeneca PLC
INDEX
TO EXHIBITS
1.
AstraZeneca to acquire EsoBiotec
17 March 2025
AstraZeneca to acquire EsoBiotec to advance cell therapy
ambition
Acquisition
includes world-leading in vivo delivery platform with potential to
transform cell therapy
AstraZeneca has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire
EsoBiotec, a biotechnology company pioneering in vivo cell
therapies that has demonstrated promising early clinical activity.
The EsoBiotec Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform
empowers the immune system to attack cancers and could offer many
more patients access to transformative cell therapy treatments
delivered in just minutes rather than the current process which
takes weeks.
ENaBL uses highly targeted lentiviruses to deliver genetic
instructions to specific immune cells, such as T cells, which
programme them to recognise and destroy tumour cells for
cancer treatment or autoreactive cells for potential use in
immune-mediated diseases. This approach enables cell therapies
to be administered through a simple IV injection and without the
need for immune cell depletion.
Traditional cell therapies require cells to be removed from a
patient, genetically modified outside the body, and then
readministered to the patient as a medicine after immune cell
depletion, typically taking weeks. By engineering immune cells
directly within the patients body, the EsoBiotec in vivo approach
has the potential to address many of the barriers associated with
traditional cell therapies, reducing complexities and manufacturing
timelines, thereby increasing access for patients.
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.
Jean-Pierre Latere, CEO, EsoBiotec, said: We look forward to
working with AstraZeneca, a global leader in drug development, to
advance our shared goal of bringing transformative cost-effective
cell therapies to more patients globally. By combining our
expertise and resources, we can accelerate the development of our
in vivo platform which has a novel delivery technology we believe
will have broad therapeutic applicability.
EsoBiotec will become a wholly owned subsidiary of
AstraZeneca, with operations in Belgium.
Financial considerations
AstraZeneca will acquire all outstanding equity
of EsoBiotecfor a total consideration of up to $1bn, on a cash
and debt free basis. This will include an initial payment of $425m
on deal closing, and up to $575m 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.
The transaction does not impact AstraZenecas financial guidance for
2025.
Notes
About EsoBiotec
EsoBiotec is a leading in vivo cell therapy company with the
mission to make these innovative treatments more accessible,
effective and affordable. By engineering immune cells directly
within the patients body, EsoBiotec is eliminating the barriers of
traditional cell therapies and unlocking new possibilities for
oncology and immune-mediated diseases.
EsoBiotecs proprietary ENaBL platform redefines adoptive cell
therapy, enabling single IV, off-the-shelf treatments that reduce
costs, improve patient experience, eliminate the need
for immune cell depletion and have the potential to
improve efficacy and safety through advanced lentiviral vector
technology. The vector has modifications which deliver specificity
to immune cells, such as T cells, and also enable the vector to
evade rapid elimination by the patients immune
system.
AstraZeneca in cell therapy
AstraZenecas ambition is to realise the full potential of cell
therapies. It is focused on empowering the immune system to attack
cancers, reset the underlying drivers of immune-mediated diseases
to return patients to health, and provide transformative solutions
with curative potential for people living with rare diseases. To
achieve this, the Company is building world-class cell therapy
capabilities and advancing a broad pipeline of cell therapies,
enabled by technologies including chimeric antigen receptor T-cells
(CAR T), T-cell receptor therapies (TCR T) and CAR T regulatory
(CAR Tregs) cells.
AstraZeneca
in oncology
AstraZeneca is leading a revolution in oncology with the ambition
to provide cures for cancer in every form, following the science to
understand cancer and all its complexities to discover, develop and
deliver life-changing medicines to patients.
The Company's focus is on some of the most challenging cancers. It
is through persistent innovation that AstraZeneca has built one of
the most diverse portfolios and pipelines in the industry, with the
potential to catalyse changes in the practice of medicine and
transform the patient experience.
AstraZeneca has the vision to redefine cancer care and, one day,
eliminate cancer as a cause of death.
AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN) is a global, science-led
biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery,
development, and commercialisation of prescription medicines in
Oncology, Rare Diseases, and BioPharmaceuticals, including
Cardiovascular, Renal & Metabolism, and Respiratory &
Immunology. Based in Cambridge, UK, AstraZenecas innovative
medicines are sold in more than 125 countries and used by millions
of patients worldwide. Please visit astrazeneca.com and follow the
Company on social media @AstraZeneca.
Contacts
For details on how to contact the Investor Relations Team, please
click here.
For Media contacts, click here.
Adrian Kemp
Company Secretary
AstraZeneca PLC
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Date:
17 March 2025
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By: /s/
Adrian Kemp
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Name:
Adrian Kemp
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Title:
Company Secretary
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