Astellas boosts ocular pipeline with gene therapy acquisition
Japan-based Astellas Pharma has acquired Quethera, a UK-headquartered gene therapy company focused on developing treatments for ocular disorders.
Through the deal, which could cost up to £85 million ($109 million) and was announced on Friday, August 10, Astellas has acquired Quethera's ophthalmic gene therapy programme.
The programme uses a “recombinant adeno-associated viral vector system (rAAV) to introduce therapeutic genes into target retinal cells” for the treatment of glaucoma.
Kenji Yasukawa, president and CEO of Astellas, said that the rAAV programme has potential as a new therapeutic option for the treatment of refractory glaucoma.
Yasukawa added: “It would address a high unmet medical need in glaucoma patients who are at risk of losing their eyesight.”
According to Peter Widdowson, CEO of Quethera, the deal will allow the company to accelerate its evaluation of this investigational technology programme to see if it can slow or prevent disease progression for these patients.
Earlier this year, Astellas acquired US-based Universal Cells in a move that allowed it to develop universal donor cell technology. The acquisition, worth $102.5 million, enabled Astellas to use the technology to create cell therapy products that do not require human leukocyte antigen.
Back in 2016, Astellas announced its intention to acquire Germany-based Ganymed, to strengthen Astellas’s oncology pipeline, which is one of the company’s core therapeutic areas.
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