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AstraZeneca is acquiring Belgium-based EsoBiotec for $1 billion to expand its cell therapy capabilities, with the deal set to close in the second quarter.
AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical and biotechnology joint venture, announced on Monday that it has reached an agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, according to a company press release.
The Belgium-based biotech firm has accepted AstraZeneca's $1 billion acquisition offer for its entire shareholding, with an initial payment of $425 million.
The deal is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
"EsoBiotec will enhance and build upon the impact of our recent investments, representing a significant step towards realising our ambition to fully harness the potential of cell therapy," said Susan Galbraith, AstraZeneca's Executive Vice President.
Jean-Pierre Latere, CEO of EsoBiotec, stated: "We are excited to collaborate with AstraZeneca, a global leader in drug development, to advance our shared goal of delivering cost-effective, transformative cell therapies to a wider patient population. By combining our expertise and resources, we can accelerate the development of our in vivo platform, which utilises an innovative delivery technology with broad therapeutic potential."
EsoBiotec is a pioneering biotechnology company specialising in in vivo cell therapies for cancer, with early clinical studies showing promising results.
The company's Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral platform enhances the immune system's ability to combat cancer and has the potential to make cell therapy more accessible, reducing treatment times from weeks to just minutes.
At least 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday, among the deadliest since a June ceasefire. Meanwhile, Qatar denied holding Iranian pilots. It said it had found the remains of one pilot after an airspace violation and had contacted Iran to coordinate a handover.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump's threats to make the Strait of Hormuz part of U.S. territory have been mocked by Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, who said the sea passage "cannot be seized by tweet."
At least 47 people have been killed after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia early on Saturday, triggering small tsunami waves and dozens of aftershocks, officials say.
Russia and Ukraine traded large-scale overnight attacks targeting energy, industrial and military facilities on Saturday, with a three-month-old baby killed and 11 people injured in a Russian drone strike on a residential building in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Democratic Republic of Congo says the number of confirmed Ebola cases has risen to nearly 4,500, including more than 2,060 deaths. Delayed detection, weak surveillance, funding shortages and conflict have allowed the virus to spread faster than in any previous epidemic at the same stage.
Australia warned on Monday (3 August) of a wider spread of H5N1 bird flu after its first confirmed mass mortality event among seabirds killed about 50 greater crested terns off the coast of South Australia, south of Adelaide.
Cancer patients in Sudan are struggling to access life-saving treatment as soaring medication costs, power shortages and damaged hospital infrastructure deepen the country's healthcare crisis after more than three years of war.
The world risks a resurgence of the HIV epidemic after international funding fell by nearly a fifth last year, according to a new report from UNAIDS, which warned that decades of progress against the disease could be reversed without renewed global support.
A global shift towards healthier diets, more efficient farming and reduced food waste could cut greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture-related land-use change by 85% by 2050, according to a study published last week in the journal Nature.
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