Roche Acquires Poseida Therapeutics, Boosting Cell Therapy Portfolio
Roche Holdings, Inc. has agreed to acquire Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in allogeneic cell therapies and genetic medicines, integrating the company into Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division, and enhancing their capabilities in allogeneic cell therapy.
The acquisition brings Poseida's innovative pipeline which includes a proprietary non-viral technology platform, which enables the development of allogeneic, T stem cell memory (T SCM)-rich CAR-T therapies, which include hematologic malignancies, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.
Poseida Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage allogeneic cell therapy and genetic medicines company advancing differentiated non-viral treatments for patients with cancer, autoimmune and rare diseases, today announced that it has entered into a merger agreement to be acquired by Roche Holdings, Inc. at a price of $9.00 per share in cash at closing, plus a non-tradeable CVR to receive certain contingent payments of up to an aggregate of $4.00 per share in cash upon achievement of specific milestones. This corresponds to a total equity value of approximately $1.5 billion on a fully diluted basis. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by Poseida's Board of Directors, and Poseida's Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Poseida stockholders tender their shares in the tender offer.
The proposed acquisition will establish a new core capability for Roche in allogeneic cell therapy, with lead opportunities focused on CAR-T programs covered by the existing strategic collaboration between Poseida and Roche in hematologic malignancies. It will include CAR-T programs for solid tumors and autoimmune diseases, along with Poseida's genetic engineering platform and related preclinical medicines.
Poseida has pioneered a proprietary technology platform that includes a full set of non-viral capabilities to design, develop and manufacture allogeneic, T stem cell memory cells (TSCM)-rich CAR-T therapies. TSCM cells are considered ideal for CAR-T therapy because they are long-lived, multi-potent and self-replicating, with the potential for an improved safety and efficacy profile. This may offer benefits compared to other approaches, which either use a different cell type or drive T cell differentiation (and therefore less stemness) as part of the process to manufacture the CAR-T cells.
"Poseida has demonstrated the unique ability of its proprietary non-viral technology platform to create allogeneic, TSCM-rich CAR-T therapies with the potential to improve clinical outcomes and expand access to this important class of medicines. Most recently, this was highlighted by the compelling interim clinical data for P-BCMA-ALLO1 in patients with multiple myeloma," said Kristin Yarema, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Poseida Therapeutics. "We have worked closely with Roche through our collaboration focused on hematologic malignancies, and we are excited to join Roche to work as colleagues together across our pipeline and future programs. Roche's global capabilities in late-stage development and commercialization will enable patients worldwide to benefit from the transformative potential of allo CAR-T."
Poseida and its employees will join the Roche Group as part of Roche's Pharmaceuticals Division.
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