AbbVie to buy Capstan for up to $2.1 billion in immunology push

By Christy Santhosh

(Reuters) -AbbVie said on Monday it would acquire privately held cell therapy developer Capstan Therapeutics in a deal worth up to $2.1 billion, expanding its product pipeline with experimental treatments for autoimmune diseases.

The U.S. drugmaker has spent over $20 billion on acquisitions since 2023 as its flagship rheumatoid arthritis drug, Humira, lost patent protection.

Capstan develops CAR-T therapies, which use a patient’s own immune cells, specifically T-cells, to fight diseases. Its main drug, CPTX2309, is currently in early-stage development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.

The therapy delivers instructions to certain immune cells to find and remove harmful B-cells that mistakenly attack healthy tissues or grow uncontrollably.

AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) is "building on dominance in the inflammatory space" with this deal as it looks to compete with Vertex (NASDAQ:VRTX), Bristol Myers (NYSE:BMY) and Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) to treat B-cell–driven inflammatory diseases, BMO analyst Evan Seigerman said.

The company already holds a strong position in immunology, driven by the success of its autoimmune drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq. The drugs are projected to bring in more than $31 billion in combined sales by 2027.

For Capstan, AbbVie will pay up to $2.1 billion in cash, subject to certain customary adjustments.

Capstan is backed by investors including Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Ventures, Novartis (SIX:NOVN) Venture Fund, Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) and Bristol Myers Squibb.

The deal also includes Capstan’s CellSeeker tLNP platform technology, which is designed to reprogram cells to treat diseases.

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Leerink analyst David Risinger said the technology has "broad potential beyond autoimmune diseases".

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