Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will harness Quell's distinctive arsenal of Treg cell engineering modules, which includes the groundbreaking Foxp3 Phenotype Lock
AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre overhead view. (Credit: AstraZeneca)
AstraZeneca has partnered with Quell Therapeutics to advance the development of various engineered T-regulator (Treg) cell therapies, holding promising potential for treating Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).
Under the agreement, AstraZeneca will harness Quell’s distinctive arsenal of Treg cell engineering modules, which includes the groundbreaking Foxp3 Phenotype Lock. The latest tools will be utilised to create autologous multi-modular Treg cell therapy candidates, targeting significant autoimmune disease indications.
Quell Therapeutics CEO Iain McGill said: “We are extremely pleased to have AstraZeneca on board as our first major partner. This collaboration builds on our pioneering work to develop exquisitely engineered, multi-modular Treg cell therapies for immune disorders and provides excellent validation for the technologies and capabilities we have established.
“We are proud and incredibly excited to partner our leading science with the deep experience of AstraZeneca to accelerate the application of our Treg cell therapy platform in major autoimmune disease, where we believe there is a broad opportunity to reset immune tolerance and drive durable responses for patients.”
AstraZeneca BioPharmaceuticals R&D executive vice president Mene Pangalos said: “This is a very exciting collaboration with Quell as we look to expand our next-generation therapeutic toolbox and explore the untapped potential with Treg cell therapies in autoimmune indications.
“This is aligned with our strategy to target underlying disease drivers to stop or slow disease progression and ultimately accelerate the delivery of transformative care to patients with chronic autoimmune conditions.”
As part of the agreement, AstraZeneca will have the opportunity to take on the further development and commercialisation of promising clinical candidates for T1D and IBD.
To initiate the collaboration, AstraZeneca will provide Quell with an upfront payment of $85m, consisting primarily of a cash payment along with an equity investment. In the event of successful development and commercialisation milestones, Quell stands to receive additional payments totalling over $2bn, as well as tiered royalties.
Furthermore, Quell retains an option to collaborate with AstraZeneca in the US specifically for the T1D programme. This option can be exercised either following the approval of an Investigational New Drug (IND) application or at the conclusion of the Phase I/II clinical study. By exercising this option, Quell will engage in co-development of Treg cell therapies, while receiving additional milestone payments and increased royalties based on the net sales in the US.