Abingworth portfolio company GammaDelta Therapeutics to be acquired by Takeda

LONDON, Oct. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Abingworth, a leading international life sciences investor, announces its portfolio company GammaDelta Therapeutics is to be acquired by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda") for a pre-negotiated upfront payment, as well as potential development and regulatory milestones.

GammaDelta Therapeutics is a UK-headquartered company founded upon world-class research conducted by Professor Adrian Hayday and Dr Oliver Nussbaumer, at King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute and supported by Cancer Research Technology. GammaDelta is focused on harnessing the unique properties of gamma delta (γδ) T cells to improve patient outcomes and survival rates among patients with haematological malignancies and solid tumours.

Abingworth was the founding investor in GammaDelta and provided initial seed funding as part of the company's creation in 2016. It has played a role in the growth and development of the company, initially incubating its leadership team in its London offices and providing additional strategic guidance and operational support.

In 2017, Abingworth and Takeda committed up to $100 million to accelerate research and development at GammaDelta as part of a 'build-to-buy' agreement that provided Takeda with an exclusive option to acquire GammaDelta, which it has now exercised.

Tim Haines, Abingworth Chair and Managing Partner, and Board Member at GammaDelta Therapeutics, commented: "It is extremely rewarding to see this successful outcome of a positive and productive collaboration between GammaDelta Therapeutics and Takeda. We are proud to have played a part in the creation, funding and development of GammaDelta from its earliest days and seen it work diligently alongside Takeda to translate its world-class science into a powerful discovery platform and pipeline of innovative cancer cell therapies for future development. Takeda is a strongly committed to building on leading science to create innovative and impactful medicines for cancer patients, and I am confident that GammaDelta's technologies and pipeline will be a great addition to their efforts in immuno-oncology." 

Paolo Paoletti, MD, CEO of GammaDelta Therapeutics, added: "Abingworth has proved to be a truly supportive investor, partner and adviser to GammaDelta since the company was founded in 2016. They have clearly demonstrated the value their participation can have in identifying the potential of world-class science and creating the right supportive environment as a foundation for successful company creation and development."  

View the full press release from Takeda at www.takeda.com/newsroom 

About Abingworth

Abingworth is a leading transatlantic life sciences investment firm. Abingworth helps transform cutting-edge science into novel medicines by providing capital and expertise to top calibre management teams building world-class companies. Since 1973, Abingworth has invested in over 175 life science companies, leading to 46 M&As and 70+ IPOs. Our therapeutic focused investments fall into three categories: seed and early-stage, development stage, and clinical co-development. Abingworth supports its portfolio companies with a team of experienced professionals at offices in London, Menlo Park (California), and Boston.

About GammaDelta Therapeutics         

GammaDelta Therapeutics ("GammaDelta") is clinically-staged biotechnology company pioneering the discovery and development of allogeneic gamma delta T cell therapies for cancer. Committed to transforming the treatment of patients living with cancer, the Company is developing an 'off-the-shelf' therapy based on one of the body's own immune cells, a subtype of the gamma delta (γδ) T-lymphocyte, known as the Vδ1+ T cell.

The Company has developed proprietary technologies to generate both blood-and tissue-derived allogeneic immunotherapies based on Vδ1 γδ T cells for the treatment of haematological malignancies and solid tumours. Both platforms have enabled the creation of non-engineered and genetically engineered allogeneic cell therapies, which demonstrate cellular activity and tumour cell killing capacity in pre-clinical models.

GammaDelta is advancing its novel, γδ T cell platforms and product candidates under an ongoing collaboration with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited ("Takeda"). GammaDelta's technologies are based on pioneering world-class research conducted by Professor Adrian Hayday and Dr Oliver Nussbaumer, at King's College London and the Francis Crick Institute, and Professor Bruno Silva-Santos at the University of Lisbon. Early-stage research was facilitated in part by the support and the infrastructure of the National Institute for Health Research Guy's and St Thomas' Biomedical Research Centre. The formation of GammaDelta as a company was supported by Cancer Research UK Commercial Partnerships. GammaDelta's technologies have attracted significant investment from Takeda and leading life sciences investor, Abingworth LLP.

Contacts

Tim Haines
Chair & Managing Partner
Tel: +44 (0)20 7534 1500
www.abingworth.com 

For media enquiries:

Mark Swallow or Eleanor Perkin, MEDiSTRAVA Consulting
Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 9571
Email: abingworth@medistrava.com