NEW YORK – AstraZeneca entered into an exclusive option and license agreement with biopharmaceutical company Quell Therapeutics for the development of engineered T-regulator (Treg) cell therapies that treat type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the companies said Friday.
As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will pay Quell $85 million upfront in cash and through an equity investment. Quell will be eligible to receive more than $2 billion in development and commercialization milestones, as well as in tiered royalties.
As part of the partnership, Cambridge, UK-based AstraZeneca will develop, manufacture, and commercialize T-regulatory cell therapy candidates for autoimmune diseases with Quell's technology. Quell will be responsible for process development and manufacturing through the end of first-in-human clinical studies.
London-based Quell will engineer the therapies based on a patient's own Treg cells ex vivo, which are then introduced to the body to address inflammation and tissue destruction. The autologous therapy targets the pancreas islets for the type 1 diabetes indication and the gut for the IBD indication.
AstraZeneca will have the option to further develop and commercialize successful candidates. Quell has an option after approval of an investigational new drug application or at the end of a Phase I/II clinical study to codevelop therapies from the type 1 diabetes program with AstraZeneca in the US, in exchange for additional milestone payments and increased royalties on US net sales.