Astellas Pharma and Poseida Therapeutics announced an investment to support Poseida's commitment to redefining cancer cell therapy.
Astellas is investing $50 million, including $25 million to acquire 8,333,333 shares of common stock of Poseida (approximately 8.8% of the outstanding common stock of Poseida) at $3.00 per share in a private placement and a one-time $25 million payment for a right of exclusive negotiation and first refusal to license one of Poseida's clinical stage programs: P-MUC1C-ALLO1, an allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy in development for multiple solid tumor indications. In addition, Poseida has granted Astellas a board observer seat, which includes the ability to attend Poseida's scientific advisory board meetings, and certain notice rights related to any potential change of control of Poseida.
Astellas has established the Focus Area Approach for its research and development strategy. One of Astellas' Primary Focuses within the strategy is immuno-oncology. Astellas is committed to developing next-generation immuno-oncology drugs using multi-functional platforms. Its portfolio includes oncolytic viruses, bispecific immune cell engagers, small molecules, and cell therapy platforms.
Poseida is engaged in the research and development of cell and gene therapies for cancer and rare genetic diseases by leveraging its proprietary genetic editing platforms. In oncology, Poseida has a broad pipeline of allogeneic CAR-T cell therapy product candidates for both solid and liquid tumors, including P-MUC1C-ALLO1, which is in Phase 1 development for the treatment of multiple solid tumor indications.
"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."
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