Drug maker Mankind Pharma on Thursday announced it will acquire a 70 per cent stake in Belgium-based biotechnology firm Armed Cell Therapeutics B.V. (ACTx) for 48 million euros (around Rs 511 crore), marking its strategic foray into next-generation CAR-T cancer therapies.
The acquisition will be executed in instalments through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Mankind Pharma (Netherlands) B.V., which has entered into a definitive agreement for the transaction, the company said in a regulatory filing.
To facilitate the buyout, Mankind Pharma's board has approved an additional investment of up to 45 million euro in Mankind Netherlands, raising the aggregate investment limit in the arm to 50 million euro, inclusive of an earlier approved limit of 5 million euro.
ACTx is engaged in developing next-generation chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies for cancer. Its lead programs target non-Hodgkin lymphoma and small cell lung cancer. The biotech firm also plans to pursue innovative methods, including in vivo CAR-T cell generation, supported by R&D teams in the US and Europe.
ACTx was founded by Dr Paul Stoffels, former CEO of Galapagos and former CSO of Johnson & Johnson; Dr John Mellors of the University of Pittsburgh; and Peter Verhaeghe, former Chair of argenx.