British-Swedish pharmaceutical powerhouse AstraZeneca PLC has announced a landmark deal to acquire Belgian biotech firm EsoBiotec SA for up to $1 billion, marking a bold step into the future of cancer immunotherapy.
The agreement, unveiled Monday, will see AstraZeneca pay $425 million upfront, with an additional $575 million contingent on development and regulatory milestones—a structure that underscores both the potential and uncertainty of EsoBiotec’s cutting-edge technology.
The acquisition signals AstraZeneca’s ambition to dominate the next frontier of cell therapy, as it seeks to develop treatments that could be administered within minutes instead of the weeks-long processes required today.
Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment with In Vivo Engineering
At the heart of the deal is EsoBiotec’s in vivo cell engineering platform, a groundbreaking approach that modifies immune cells inside the patient’s body, effectively transforming them into cancer-fighting machines.
“This technology could transform cell therapy and scale these treatments so that many more patients worldwide can benefit,” said Susan Galbraith, executive vice president at AstraZeneca.
Unlike traditional cell therapy, which requires extracting, engineering, and reinfusing a patient’s cells—a labor-intensive and costly process—EsoBiotec’s method could dramatically streamline treatment and make it more accessible.
