AstraZeneca to buy Belgian biotech for up to $1 billion
AstraZeneca Plc, the UK drugmaker, agreed to buy the Belgian biotech EsoBiotec for as much as $1 billion to further boost its cancer capabilities.
AstraZeneca will pay $425 million upfront and may spend up to $575 million more in development and regulatory milestones, the companies said Monday.
EsoBiotec's platform has the potential to transform cell therapy, according to AstraZeneca, by empowering the immune system to attack cancers. It uses targeted viruses to engineer immune cells directly within a person's body and could allow treatment to be delivered in minutes rather than the current standard of several weeks.
EsoBiotec will become a subsidiary of AstraZeneca and maintain operations in Belgium. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.
In a separate cancer deal announced Monday, AstraZeneca agreed a licensing deal for multiple oncology assets from Alteogen Inc.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
28-03-2025
- Arab News
Congo doubles salaries for beleaguered army amid rebel advance
KINSHASA: Democratic Republic of Congo doubled salaries for soldiers and police on Friday, the Finance Ministry said, in an apparent bid to boost morale as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels advance in the east. M23 has seized eastern Congo's two largest cities in a swift offensive that has left thousands dead, forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, and piled pressure on President Felix Tshisekedi. The Finance Ministry said that the pay hikes will be 'a turning point toward better conditions' for the army. An officer in North Kivu province said on Thursday he had heard about the raises, but said that troops had not received even their basic salaries over the last two months since banks shut following the fall of the city of Goma. 'We learned that our pay has been doubled, but we have not yet experienced this increase because our salary has been frozen,' the officer said. Congo has roughly 260,000 soldiers and other security forces, according to the 2025 budget law. Government documents show that official monthly salaries since 2022 have averaged between $100 and $200 for all ranks. It was not immediately clear what effect the pay raise would have on the budget. A draft law amending the budget for 2025 was due to be sent to lawmakers earlier this month, but that has not emerged. 'These expenses are being incurred outside the budget. This is serious because no one will be able to monitor the actual numbers and salaries of the military personnel to be paid,' Valery Madianga, a Congolese expert on public finances, said. Rwanda denies allegations from Congo and the UN that it supports the M23 with arms and troops, saying its forces are acting in self defense against Congo's army and militias hostile to Kigali. Rwanda's government severed links with Belgium on March 17, accusing it of having 'consistently undermined' it during the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. National and international NGOs working in Rwanda have been banned from cooperating with Belgian institutions, the Rwanda Governance Board said, after Kigali cut off diplomatic ties with Brussels earlier this month. The RGB, which oversees service delivery in the east African nation, said the ban also extended to 'faith-based organizations' and common-benefit companies. The RGB said any current projects or agreements with the Belgian government or its affiliates were 'prohibited' and 'must be terminated immediately and reported.' 'No funds, grants, donations, or financial contributions shall be received from or disbursed to the government of Belgium, its institutions, affiliated agencies or programs,' it said in a statement issued Thursday. 'Any attempts to circumvent these financial restrictions, including indirect transactions through subsidiaries or partner organizations, will be subject to strict penalties.' Political and human rights activist Pelly Prudence Iraguha said the decision should have been submitted to parliament. But RGB chief executive Doris Uwicyeza Picard wrote on X: 'RGB has powers to take such decisions backed by laws passed by parliament. 'These laws give RGB powers to suspend NGOs involved in activities that infringe on citizens unity or security.'
Arab News
28-03-2025
- Arab News
Aramco CEO among business leaders urged by China's Xi to protect trade as Trump tariffs loom
BEIJING: China's President Xi Jinping urged a gathering of multinational CEOs on Friday to protect global industry and supply chains, as Beijing seeks to assuage foreign firms' concerns over the Chinese economy's health amid threats of more US tariffs. Beijing is battling to dispel fears that a renewed trade war with US President Donald Trump will further pinch growth in the world's second-largest economy, which has been struggling to recover since the pandemic. Longstanding unease over China's tightening regulations, abrupt crackdowns on foreign firms, and an uneven playing field favoring state-owned Chinese companies are also sapping business sentiment. 'We need to work together to maintain the stability of global industry and supply chains, which is an important guarantee for the healthy development of the world economy,' Xi told the business leaders, who included the bosses of AstraZeneca, FedEx, Saudi Aramco, Standard Chartered and Toyota. Around 40 executives joined the meeting, the majority of whom represented the pharmaceuticals sector. The meeting ran for just over 90 minutes and seven companies were invited to speak, a source with direct knowledge of its planning said. 'The CEOs I spoke with, and I spoke with a lot of them, felt it was worth it,' said Sean Stein, president of the US-China Business Council and one of the meeting's attendees. 'Not only did the president acknowledge various challenges facing companies and industry, in many cases he pledged the government would take action.' The executives sat in a horseshoe formation, with Mercedes-Benz CEO Ola Kallenius and FedEx's Raj Subramaniam sitting directly across from Xi. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery, SK Hynix boss Kwak Noh-jung, Saudi Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser, and chair of Hitachi Toshiaki Higashihara also sat in the first row. 'This meeting is a big illustration of business diplomacy. Now there is not just dialogue between bodies, WTO entities and states, but diplomacy being led by companies that are not just representing themselves, but also their sectors,' said Frank Bournois, VP and dean of the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai, adding that its success would depend on future actions and not just words. The frequency of meetings between foreign executives and high-level Chinese officials has picked up over the past month, after official data showed foreign direct investment plummeted 27.1 percent year-on-year in local currency terms in 2024. That marked the biggest drop in FDI since the 2008 global financial crisis. 'Foreign enterprises contribute one-third of China's imports and exports, one-quarter of industrial added value and one-seventh of tax revenue, creating more than 30 million jobs,' Xi said. 'In recent years, foreign investment in China has also been interfered with by geopolitical factors ... I often say that blowing out other people's lights does not make you brighter.' Trump has renewed his trade war with China since taking office and has announced a wave of fresh 'reciprocal' tariffs to take effect on April 2, targeting countries with trade barriers on US products, which could include China. He imposed 20 percent tariffs on Chinese exports this month, prompting China to retaliate with additional duties on American agricultural products. 'The essence of China-US economic and trade relations is mutually beneficial and win-win,' Xi told the meeting. The Chinese leader last year singled out American business leaders for an audience after the China Development Forum, but USCBC's Stein said such meetings were unlikely to become a routine fixture at the annual business summit, which this year ran from March 23-24. 'China's messaging is that it isn't an annual event and that businesses shouldn't expect it to be.'
Asharq Al-Awsat
28-03-2025
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Chinese President Xi Meets with Global CEOs as Investment Wanes
China's President Xi Jinping met with global CEOs in Beijing on Friday, as the government tries to woo foreign firms whose investment could give the ailing Chinese economy a boost and help insulate it against simmering geopolitical tensions. Beijing has struggled to assuage foreign investors' concerns over the durability of the $18 trillion economy, while longstanding unease over China's tightening regulations, abrupt crackdowns on foreign firms, and an uneven playing field favoring state-owned companies clouds business sentiment. "I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the foreign enterprises that have participated in and supported China's development," Xi told the business leaders, who included the bosses of AstraZeneca, FedEx, Saudi Aramco, and Standard Chartered. "Foreign enterprises contribute one-third of China's imports and exports, one-quarter of industrial added value and one-seventh of tax revenue, creating more than 30 million jobs," Xi added. Around 40 executives joined the meeting, said two sources with direct knowledge of its planning. The majority of which represented the pharmaceuticals sector, one source said. The frequency of meetings between foreign executives and high-level Chinese officials has picked up over the past month, after official data showed foreign direct investment plummeted 27.1% year-on-year in local currency terms in 2024. That marked the biggest drop in FDI since the 2008 global financial crisis. "Transnational corporations play an important role in safeguarding the world economic order," Xi said, while encouraging the companies in attendance to "raise their voices of reason and take pragmatic actions" to this end. The meeting followed last weekend's China Development Forum (CDF), a flagship business event that this year saw Premier Li Qiang urge countries to open their markets and combat "rising instability and uncertainty". Xi last year met with American business leaders after the annual business forum, an assignment previously delegated to the Premier, the top leader's second in command. "I wonder if there is a precedent now, and they will do this annually," said one of the sources, who was involved in the meeting's planning. China's leader has taken it upon himself in recent months to reassure and energize businesses both foreign and domestic. Last month Xi held a rare pro-business meeting with some of the biggest names in China's technology sector, including Alibaba's Jack Ma, urging the entrepreneurs to "show their talent" and be confident in the power of China's model and market.
