ASTELLAS ACQUIRING XYPHOS BIOSCIENCES TO BUILD OUT ONCOLOGY UNIT
by John G. Baresky on 12/27/19
Tokyo-based Astellas buys second California biotech company in less than a month
Astellas Pharma (
OTCMKTS: ALPMY ) is acquiring Xyphos Biosciences in a deal worth
up to $665 million. Astellas is seeking to build out its immuno-oncology business capabilities. This is the
second acquisition Astellas has made in a month. Historically the company has
made few buyouts since it was formed in 2005 from the
merger of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical and Fujisawa Pharmaceutical.
Xyphos is centered on advanced oncology treatment science
Astellas covets Xyphos’ proprietary molecules which can be
delivered to natural immune cells or to engineered Chimeric Antigen Receptor
(CAR) cells to generate immunotherapies for oncology treatment. The deal
provides Astellas with additional clinical talent plus proprietary processes
and technology focused in novel cancer treatment research and development. Xyphos’ first CAR cell product investigational
agent is in preclinical development and scheduled to be tested in a
first-in-human clinical study in 2021.
Astellas announced a multi-billion dollar deal earlier this month
Earlier in December, 2019 Astellas bought Audentes Therapeutics for $3 billion. Audentes is a biotech firm focused on gene therapy. Xyphos and Audentes are each based in
South San Francisco.
Astellas is a worldwide pharmaceutical leader
Based in Tokyo, Japan with a U.S. headquarters
in Northbrook, Illinois, Astellas is Japan’s second largest pharmaceutical
company ( Takeda is ranked number one). Astellas has over 17,000 employees and
generally speaking is aligned with 5 disease categories:
- Immuno-Oncology
- Immunotherapy
- Neuro-Muscular
- Regenerative
- Gene Therapy
Xyphos is an ideal element
that fits well with Astellas’ corporate strategy. With annual sales of approximately
$12 billion and a market capitalization estimated at $33 billion, Astellas has made assertive moves in 2019 to accelerate its clinical and financial future success from the start in 2020.
John G. Baresky
