AstraZeneca makes $1B deal for Gracell and its cell therapies, adding to China ties

As­traZeneca will pay $1 bil­lion to buy Chi­na-US cell ther­a­py com­pa­ny Gra­cell Biotech­nolo­gies, adding to a rush of deals that have been an­nounced at the end of 2023 to shore up big phar­ma pipelines.

For As­traZeneca, the lat­est ac­qui­si­tion marks two key moves: gain­ing a foothold in the ris­ing tide of au­toim­mune cell ther­a­pies and fur­ther­ing its place in the Chi­nese biotech ecosys­tem, which CEO Pas­cal So­ri­ot has pre­vi­ous­ly said was on his shop­ping list.

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