Twist in research pact with with Astellas, eligible for milestone payments

Twist Bioscience (TWST) announced a research collaboration with Astellas Pharma (ALPMF) to discover antibodies against multiple targets of interest to develop curative therapies for patients suffering from diseases that lack treatment options. "This second collaboration with Astellas demonstrates the power of our antibody discovery capabilities. The depth and breadth of our Library of Libraries enables highly potent antibodies, often missed using other technologies, to be identified across multiple potential therapeutic areas," said Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience. "We are looking forward to continuing our working relationship with Astellas and building on the progress made to date in our first collaboration." Under the terms of the agreement, Twist will conduct antibody discovery activities against multiple targets identified by Astellas. In addition to an upfront payment and project specific research fees, Twist will be eligible to receive up to $11M per product through payments associated with specific clinical and commercial milestones. Twist will also be eligible to receive royalty payments on product sales. Astellas will be responsible for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of any such products.