Kite inks $1.64B in vivo CAR-T deal with China’s Pregene

Gilead subsidiary Kite Pharma has entered a global licensing agreement with China-based biotech Pregene Biopharma.

The agreement centers on the research and development of next-generation in vivo therapies. Pregene’s product pipeline includes CAR-T and CAR-NK drugs with multiple targets, with indications covering multiple therapeutic fields such as hematological tumors, solid tumors, and autoimmune diseases.

Per the deal, Gilead will give Pregene a $120 million in an upfront payment with a potential of up to $1.52 billion in milestones, according to a translated of regulatory filing.

In August, Kite acquired Interius BioTherapeutics, a privately held biotech developing in vivo CAR therapeutics, in a $350 million deal. The acquisition gave Kite access to Interius’ off-the-shelf approach, designed to be delivered via a single intravenous infusion, eliminating the need for preconditioning chemotherapy and complex cell processing.

The move into in vivo therapies is in step with other industry players looking to bypass the complexity and costs associated with ex vivo cell production. In March AstraZeneca entered into a potential $1 billion agreement to acquire EsoBiotec, picking up the Belgium-based biotech’s in vivo delivery platform. In June, AbbVie acquired Capstan Therapeutics, a San Diego-based biotech focused on advancing in vivo engineering of cells through RNA delivery, in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion in cash.