Galápagos acquires CellPoint and AboundBio for Car-T care

Galápagos acquired CellPoint and AboundBio. The biotech company can thus “revolutionize the therapeutic paradigm of Car-T”, entering the market of new generation cellular oncological therapies that arrive directly at the patient’s bed, while at the same time expanding its portfolio and its possible applications. The news was released today in a joint note of the biotechnology companies, in which it is specified that Galápagos for the acquisition of CellPoint has advanced an amount equal to 125 million euros, with a further 100 million to be paid upon reaching certain intermediate milestones, while for AboundBio he paid 14 million. Galápagos – explains the note – thus gains access to an innovative, scalable, decentralized and automated model, capable of bringing cell therapy directly to treatment centers, and to a new generation therapeutic platform based on completely human antibodies. Galápagos’ goal is to expand the current Car-T therapy market, with a strong impact on patients in need of new and better treatment options. CellPoint has developed, in strategic collaboration with Lonza, a new model for the provision of Car-T therapies to treatment centers, in or near the hospital. In this way, possible logistical complexities are avoided and rapid (7 days) and efficient delivery is possible, thus overcoming some important current limitations. The model is based on CellPoint’s xCellit end-to-end workflow and monitoring software and Lonza’s Cocoon * system, a closed, automated manufacturing platform for cell and gene therapies. Clinical trials on CellPoint’s decentralized supply model have gained approval from regulatory authorities in Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. Two Phase 1 / 2a studies are currently underway in relapsed / refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (rrNhl) and relapsed / refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (rrCll) with a candidate Car-T therapy targeting the CD19 molecule. Preliminary results are expected in the first half of 2023. These studies will allow a rapid clinical validation of the model of provision of Car-T in care centers. At a later stage, CellPoint’s model will be used for the new Car-T developed on the basis of AboundBio’s exclusive fully human antibody library, thanks to the platform’s great potential for discovering biological drugs and its ability to engineer them. The goal is to bring three next-generation Car-T therapies to clinical trials over the next 3 years. “With the agreements announced today, we position ourselves as a potential innovation player in the Car-T field and, at the same time, we are laying a solid foundation for to start to bring forward continuous innovation to patients suffering from advanced malignant tumors who need new therapeutic options – says Paul Stoffels, CEO of Galápagos – Our goal is to bring three different next-generation Car-T candidates into trials in next 3 years. This is a key first step in our strategic transformation aimed at accelerating and diversifying the pipeline with the aim of creating short- and long-term value through targeted external growth. We continue to explore new business development opportunities for further exploit our internal capabilities and renew the portfolio. We plan to communicate a detailed update of the company strategy and our portfolio. Thanks to the support of our partner Gilead, we warmly welcome the CellPoint and AboundBio teams to Galápagos, together with whom we want to make medicines that can modify the natural history of disease available to patients around the world. “” We are excited about joining Galápagos to accelerate the development, commercialization and scale-up of our innovative Car-T ‘vein-to vein’ delivery model – says Tol Trimborn, co-founder and CEO of CellPoint – Despite the progress accomplished by current Car-T therapies, long lead times, centralized manufacturing with a high degree of manual skill, and logistical complexities limit large-scale capacity and patient access. Our innovative decentralized production and supply model is designed to manage and overcome these limitations, and deliver Car-T cells to the care center, within or near the hospital. This allows us to significantly reduce the time to receive treatment from the current standard of over a month to just one week. “” We are very happy to join forces with those of Galápagos to accelerate research and realize the maximum potential of our ability to innovate – adds John Mellors, CEO of AboundBio – Our new generation of fully human and multi-specific Car-T constructs allows us to provide more effective and longer-lasting care options, even in the event of relapse after previous cell therapy Car-T. Together with CellPoint’s decentralized center-of-care delivery model, we aim to broaden patient access and ultimately change their lives. Galápagos’ leadership and skills have impressed us very much and we look forward to the exciting journey ahead. “