AstraZeneca to buy biotech firm TeneoTwo for up to US$1.27b

ASTRAZENECA agreed to acquire biotechnology firm TeneoTwo in a deal worth up to US$1.27 billion on Tuesday, in a move to bolster its roster of therapies to treat blood cancers.

At the heart of the deal is the US-based company’s early stage experimental treatment for a form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer that involves the growth of abnormal white blood cells that can lead to the emergence of tumours.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker - whose key blood cancer drug Calquence generated sales of more than US$1.2 billion last year - plans to acquire all outstanding equity of TeneoTwo for an upfront payment of US$100 million, with additional milestone-related payments of up to US$1.17 billion.

TeneoTwo’s experimental drug, TNB-486, belongs to a class of bispecific antibodies that are engineered to redirect the immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells.

It is currently in a phase 1 trial in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who have received 2 or more previous lines of therapy.

The transaction is likely to close in the third quarter of this year and is not expected to impact AstraZeneca’s 2022 outlook, the London-listed company said.

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TeneoTwo was spun off from Teneobio, which was bought by US biotechnology company Amgen last year. REUTERS