Eterna acquires allogeneic immuno-oncology platform from Exacis Biotherapeutics

Eterna Therapeutics announced the acquisition of the global immuno-oncology platform of Exacis Biotherapeutics. The acquisition complements Eterna’s core business with a pipeline of allogeneic immuno-oncology products under development for the treatment of hematologic and solid tumors and provides Eterna with an exclusive global license to produce an unlimited number of mRNA-engineered natural killer and T-cell therapies derived from induced pluripotent stem cells. "We are excited to bring this powerful platform into Eterna. With Exacis’ pipeline of engineered iPSC-derived cell therapy candidates, we believe Eterna is well-positioned to develop more effective, targeted and highly differentiated medicines to treat cancer," said Matt Angel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Eterna. "We believe that combining the Exacis and Eterna technologies de-risks our approach and supports a capital-efficient path to develop highly competitive cancer therapeutics." Gregory Fiore, M.D., President and CEO of Exacis, will chair a newly added committee on Eterna’s Board focusing on business development, and Eterna’s team will be joined by Exacis’ Chief Business Officer, Dimitrios Goundis, Ph.D., who will advise the Company on business development matters. The terms of the acquisition include an upfront payment in shares of Eterna common stock, as well as milestone and other potential payments totaling up to $49.0 million.