Cambridge’s flagship Big Biotech company AstraZeneca has further strengthened its cancer medicine pipeline with the acquisition of US company TeneoTwo – a deal that could stack up to more than $1.26 billion.
AstraZeneca says TeneoTwo’s clinical-stage T-cell engager –TNB-486 – will be evaluated in multiple types of lymphoma.
TeneoTwo, Inc., is a majority owned subsidiary company of TBio, LLC, a limited liability company formed in Delaware.
AstraZeneca will acquire all outstanding equity of TeneoTwo in exchange for an upfront payment of $100 million on deal closing – expected in Q3 this year, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearances.
AstraZeneca will make additional contingent R & D-related milestone payments of up to $805m and additional contingent commercial-related milestone payments of up to $360m to TeneoTwo’s equity holders.
The acquisition of TNB-486 aims to accelerate the development of this potential new medicine for B-cell haematologic malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and follicular lymphoma.
Building on the success of Calquence (acalabrutinib), TNB-486 further diversifies AstraZeneca’s haematology pipeline that spans multiple therapeutic modalities and mechanisms to address a broad spectrum of blood cancers.
TNB-486 belongs to a class of therapeutic antibodies known as T-cell engagers, which are emerging as a promising therapeutic approach in haematologic malignancies and solid tumours.
T-cell engagers are bispecific molecules that are engineered to redirect the immune system’s T-cells to recognise and kill cancer cells.
By binding to both CD19, an antigen expressed on B-cells, and to the CD3 receptor on T-cells, TNB-486 activates and recruits T-cells to CD19-expressing tumours where they can elicit an immune response.
Anas Younes, senior VP Haematology R & D for AstraZeneca said: “By redirecting the body’s natural immune response to target B-cell malignancies, TNB-486 alone or in combination with CD20-targeted therapy could potentially deepen clinical responses and improve patient outcomes.
“We believe this innovative molecule, which was designed to optimise the therapeutic window of T-cell activation, will enable us to explore novel combinations that have the potential to become new standards of care in this setting.”