Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSTX, CEO: Mark Gergen, “Poseida”) and Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Naoki Okamura, “Astellas”) today announced a strategic investment to support Poseida’s commitment to reimagining CAR-T cell therapy for cancer.
According to the transaction agreements, Astellas will invest a total of $50 million, including $25 million in a private placement to acquire 8,333,333 shares of Poseida common stock (approximately 8.8% of Poseida’s outstanding common stock) at $3.00 per share and a one-time $25 million payment for a right of exclusive negotiation and first refusal to licence one of Poseida’s clinical stage programmes: P-MUC1C-ALLO1, an allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in development for multiple solid tumor indications.
Furthermore, Poseida has awarded Astellas a board observer seat, which includes the ability to attend Poseida’s scientific advisory board meetings and specific notice rights regarding any prospective change in Poseida’s control.
Astellas’ research and development approach is based on the Focus Area Approach. Immuno-oncology is one of Astellas’ Primary Focuses under the plan. Astellas is dedicated to the development of next-generation immuno-oncology therapeutics using multi-functional platforms. Oncolytic viruses, bispecific immune cell engagers, small drugs, and cell therapy platforms are among the products in its portfolio.
Poseida uses its patented genetic editing platforms to conduct research and development of cell and gene therapies for cancer and rare genetic illnesses. Poseida offers a diverse pipeline of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy product candidates for both solid and liquid tumours, including P-MUC1C-ALLO1, which is in Phase I development for numerous solid tumour applications.
Poseida Pipeline (CAR-T Cell Therapy for Cancer):
CAR-T therapy is a type of anti-cancer therapy in which T cells are genetically modified to attack tumours, a strategy that has transformed cancer treatment. At the moment, all commercially available CAR-T therapies are autologous, meaning that the T cells are derived from each individual patient. Poseida believes that allogeneic techniques, in which T cells are produced from healthy donors, hold the key to the future of CAR-T and our potential to give novel therapeutic options.
Poseida also has strategic collaboration with Roche, which centred on allogeneic CAR-T treatments for hematologic malignancies. The collaboration encompasses many established Poseida programmes as well as the development of innovative off-the-shelf cell treatments targeting targets in multiple myeloma, B-cell lymphoma, and other hematologic cancers.
By leveraging our extensive expertise, experience in cancer biology and unique technologies, we are focused on reinvigorating the immune system’s ability to discover, disarm and destroy cancers in more patients. We are pursuing this ambitious goal through innovative and multifunctional modality platforms, using the capabilities at our global R&D sites as well as through partnership with external expert partners,” said Adam Pearson, Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas. “We believe that this investment fits strategically with our long-term vision of expanding our capability in immuno-oncology and will ultimately lead to the development of new therapeutics for patients in need of cancer immunotherapy.”
“We are excited to enter this strategic relationship with Astellas, a premier biopharmaceutical company that shares our long-term vision that cell and gene therapies represent an exciting growth area for the development of innovative medicines for improving patient care,” said Mark Gergen, Poseida’s Chief Executive Officer. “This investment further validates the potential of our proprietary genetic engineering technology platform and cell therapy approach, and we look forward to working with Astellas to advance our shared vision and explore future opportunities for collaboration to further unlock that potential.”