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Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (J&J) has entered into a licensing agreement with South Korean LegoChem Biosciences to develop and commercialise LCB84, in a deal potentially worth $1.7bn. LegoChem will receive $100m in upfront payment along with an option exercise payment of $200m in milestone-based payments and tiered royalties on net sales. The companies will also collaborate on the ongoing Phase I/II trial investigating LCB84.

AstraZeneca has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Gracell Biotechnologies to expand its portfolio of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. AstraZeneca will acquire all of Gracell’s fully diluted share capital for $2 per ordinary share in cash closing, totalling $1bn. Gracell will be in line to receive a non-tradable contingent value right of $0.30 per ordinary share in cash.

Almirall highlighted the importance of etherna’s lipid nanoparticle (LNP) formulations for the delivery of ribonucleic acid (RNA) therapies. In the pharmaceutical industry, LNP systems have emerged as a leading vehicle to deliver therapeutics via a non-viral alternative. The use of LNPs on the market was sparked during Covid-19 and formed the delivery basis for Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech’s mRNA vaccines. 

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has entered a license agreement with Editas Medicine to use the latter company’s Cas9 gene editing technology. Vertex will pay $50m to Editas upfront, with an additional contingent $50m payment, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The companies did not disclose what would trigger the second payment.