Medicine giant Roche to buy cell therapy firm Poseida Therapeutics

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Swiss medicine giant Roche announced on Tuesday that it will acquire cell therapy maker firm Poseida Therapeutics for a total transaction value of $1.5 billion.

The acquisition will facilitate a range of potentially "first and best-in-class therapies" across oncology, immunology, and neurology, uniquely positioning Roche in the new field of donor-derived off-the-shelf cell therapies," Roche stated in a press release.

The transaction is expected to complete in the first quarter of the next year.

The acquisition will be done for $9 per share, and shareholders will also receive a non-tradeable contingent value right for around $4 per share, representing a total deal value of some $1.5 billion.

Poseida is a public clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm in donor-derived CAR-T cell therapies, based in California, US.

Poseida’s research and development portfolio includes pre-clinical and clinical-stage off-the-shelf, chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) therapies across several therapeutic areas, including hematological malignancies, solid tumors, and autoimmune disease, as well as manufacturing capabilities and technology platforms.