AbbVie's $2.1bn buy of Capstan lifts its immunology pipeline

AbbVie has agreed to buy Capstan Therapeutics for up to $2.1 billion, expanding its pipeline with a potential first-in-class treatment for autoimmune diseases as well as adding a novel RNA delivery system to its portfolio.
The deal revolves around CPTX2309, a potential first-in-class CAR-T therapy candidate that Capstan has advanced into phase 1 testing for the treatment of B-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. The in vivo therapy is directed against CD19, which is a tried-and-tested CAR-T target in the treatment of blood cancers.
It is delivered directly to patients using a proprietary lipid nanoparticle formulation (LNP) that can be aimed at specific cells using a targeting component, such as an antibody, carrying an mRNA that encodes an anti-CD19 CAR that can reprogramme CD8-expressing cytotoxic T-cells and "reset" the immune system.
CPTX2309 is one of a crop of new CAR-T therapies seeking to extend the use of CAR-T from cancer and into the immunology category, tapping into the understanding that B-cells can act as a driver for the autoimmune disease process.
Targeting CD19 can be used to deplete B-cells, helping to dampen down autoimmunity, but so far most efforts have focused on ex vivo approaches that require cells to be harvested from patients, reprogrammed, and expanded using a complicated manufacturing process, and reinfused after treatment to deplete the immune system.
"In vivo CAR-T represents a potential new treatment modality in medicine, embodying the transformative power of cell therapy with the accessibility and scalability of an off-the-shelf biologic," said Capstan's president and chief executive, Laura Shawver.
"This technology has the potential to become a first-in-class platform to treat a wide range of autoimmune diseases."
The takeover agreement also consolidates an uptick in biopharma M&A activity in the last few weeks, following a flurry of other deals that has included Eli Lilly/Verve, Supernus/Sage, BioNTech/CureVac, and Sanofi/Blueprint.
AbbVie is already a big player in the immunology and inflammation (I&I) sector, accounting for almost half of its total revenues last year thanks to big brands like Humira (adalimumab), Skyrizi (risankizumab), and Rinvoq (upadacitinib), so it will be well positioned to usher CPTX2309 through clinical development and onto the market, if development proceeds as hoped.
Under the terms of the agreement, AbbVie will pay up to $2.1 billion in cash at closing to acquire Capstan as it tries to maintain its strong I&I position in the face of growing competition from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Biogen, according to analysts at BMO, who note that CPTX2309 could have applications in disease like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus.