Latest news with #EsoBiotec
Business Recorder
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
AstraZeneca says to invest $50bn in the US
LONDON: British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca said Tuesday it would invest $50 billion in the United States amid a looming deadline of ramped-up tariffs from Washington. A large chunk of the funds will go toward building a multi-billion-dollar manufacturing centre in Virginia, the company said in a statement, adding that it expects 50 percent of its revenue to come from the United States by 2030. 'Today's announcement underpins our belief in America's innovation in biopharmaceuticals,' the statement quoted CEO Pascal Soriot as saying. US President Donald Trump has opened the door to potential tariffs targeting pharmaceuticals, which have so far benefited from exemptions to his sweeping levies on imports from trading partners. He ordered an investigation launched into pharmaceutical imports, suggesting that levies could reach up to 200 percent. AstraZeneca to buy EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion The United States is a key market for the pharmaceutical industry, and AstraZeneca had already announced in April that it had begun transferring part of its European production to the United States. 'For decades Americans have been reliant on foreign supply of key pharmaceutical products,' US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. He added that the new tariffs are focused on 'ending this structural weakness'. The announcement included a new factory in Virginia, which will be the company's 'largest single manufacturing investment'. Other major pharmaceutical companies, which had been exempt from tariffs for 30 years, have, in recent months, begun shifting investment and production to the United States.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Montgomery County launches site to support businesses, workers
ROCKVILLE, Md. () — Montgomery County officials launched, a public-private partnership aimed at supporting businesses and workers affected by federal budget cuts. The initiative brings together county agencies, business organizations, and workforce development groups to provide resources, including job postings, business incentives, and financial assistance. MoCo Minute | AstraZeneca acquires EsoBiotec in $1 Billion deal to advance cancer treatment A new website, will serve as a central hub for affected businesses and employees. County leaders said the coalition will work closely with the state to ensure continued support. As federal cuts ripple through the local economy, Mobilize Montgomery aims to keep businesses afloat and residents working. For more information, click . Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Observer
17-03-2025
- Business
- Observer
AstraZeneca to buy Belgian cell therapy firm EsoBiotec for up to $1bn
British drug major AstraZeneca said on Monday it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, a Belgianbiotech company, for up to $1 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. The consideration includes an initial payment of $425 million on deal closing, and up to $575 million in contingent consideration based on development and regulatory milestones. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2025. EsoBiotec will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, with operations in Belgium. AstraZeneca said the acquisition does not impact its financial guidance for 2025. EsoBiotec will help AstraZeneca expand its cell-therepy portfolio. This acquisition includes EsoBiotec's ENaBL platform, which empowers the immune system to attack cancers. Susan Galbraith, executive vice president of 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."
The Guardian
17-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
AstraZeneca pays up to $1bn for biotech firm ‘that could transform cell therapy'
AstraZeneca has struck a $1bn (£773m) deal to buy a Belgian biotech company that specialises in cancer immunotherapies, the latest in a string of acquisitions that also yielded positive results for a late-stage rare disease drug on Monday. EsoBiotec, a small privately held firm founded four years ago in Mont-Saint-Guibert, develops in-vivo cell therapies that empower the immune system to attack cancers, and could offer many more patients access to cell therapy treatments provided in minutes rather than weeks. The deal marks the latest acquisition by Astra, which is Britain's biggest listed company valued at £186bn, as the pharmaceutical group continues to expand its global operations. EsoBiotec's treatment uses highly targeted lentiviruses to deliver genetic instructions to specific immune cells, such as T-cells, which program them to recognise and destroy tumour cells for cancer treatment, or tackle autoreactive cells (that target the body's own tissues or cells) for potential use in autoimmune diseases. This means cell therapies can be administered through a simple injection, and EsoBiotec describes them as 'cost-effective, off-the-shelf therapies'. In traditional cell therapies, cells are taken from a patient, genetically modified outside the body, and then put back into the patient as a medicine after immune cell depletion, which usually takes weeks. Susan Galbraith, the executive vice-president of oncology research and development at AstraZeneca, said: '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.' EsoBiotec recently launched a clinical trial for multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer. AstraZeneca, which fended off a hostile £69bn takeover approach from the US group Pfizer in 2014, will pay $425m initially for the Belgian company, and up to $575m based on development and regulatory milestones. It has been beefing up its drug portfolio with targeted acquisitions, such as China's Gracell Biotechnologies, which specialises in cancer therapy known as CAR-T that modifies a patient's cells to fight the disease. AstraZeneca's biggest deal was the $39bn acquisition of the US rare disease drug developer Alexion in 2020, but it was criticised for paying a high price. Marc Dunoyer, who runs the division and is AstraZeneca's chief strategy officer, defended the deal as a 'fantastic acquisition' last month when the company took a $753m hit for scrapping one of the Alexion drugs, while two other products from the acquisition have also been abandoned. Separately, Britain's biggest pharmaceutical group said on Monday that its Imfinzi treatment had been approved in the EU as the first and only immunotherapy for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer, whose disease has not progressed after platinum-based chemoradiation therapy. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion AstraZeneca also announced that a drug for a rare endocrine disease, hypoparathyroidism, which can lead to bone density loss and osteoporosis, had met its goal of normalising calcium levels in the blood after 24 weeks. It was well tolerated by patients, and the trial continues as planned to 52 weeks. The company acquired the medicine along with the French rare disease specialist Amolyt Pharma in a deal worth more than $1bn a year ago. AstraZeneca also announced a licence agreement with South Korea's Alteogen to acquire the worldwide rights to its platform, to develop and commercialise subcutaneous formulations of several oncology medicines. Injecting medicines into the fatty tissue just under the skin can offer many advantages, including time savings for patients, clinical staff and health systems. AstraZeneca's share price reaction was muted, dipping by 0.3%.
Al Arabiya
17-03-2025
- Business
- Al Arabiya
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.
