Quethera Acquired by Astellas Pharma

Astellas will pay up to £85m in upfront and contingent payments.

Cambridge UK-based gene therapy company Quethera Limited has been acquired by Japanese pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma for up to £85m in combined upfront and milestone payments.

Astellas purchased Quethera, which is focused on gene therapy treatments for ocular disorders, in order to further expand its position in ophthalmology. Quethera’s technology is based on the use of a recombinant adeno-associated viral vector system (rAAV) to introduce therapeutic genes into target retinal cells for the treatment of glaucoma. Its lead pre-clinical candidate has been shown to improve survival of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in pre-clinical models. 

Quethera will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas upon completion of the transaction.

 

Emilie Branch

Emilie is responsible for strategic content development based on scientific areas of specialty for Nice Insight research articles and for assisting client content development across a range of industry channels. Prior to joining Nice Insight, Emilie worked at a strategy-based consulting firm focused on consumer ethnographic research. She also has experience as a contributing editor, and has worked as a freelance writer for a host of news and trends-related publications

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