Galapagos Acquires CellPoint and AboundBio for Over $250 Million

Galapagos has inked purchase deals with two biotech companies, CellPoint and AboundBio, aimed at developing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T therapies.

The acquisition deal with CellPoint includes an upfront payment of over $131 million and potential milestone payments of up to $105 million. The AboundBio purchase is priced at $14 million.

CellPoint has developed a 6-day manufacturing process that allows for a one-week vein-to-vein time compared to over one month with current CAR-T manufacturing methods. A first proprietary CD19 CAR-T investigational therapy is currently in phase 1/2a trials to assess the decentralized point-of-care production model.

With the acquisition of AboundBio, Galapagos will gain access to the company’s antibody technology to help develop next-generation CAR-Ts and bispecific antibodies.