AbelZeta, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing cell-based therapeutic products, announced, that AstraZeneca had acquired the remaining rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize C-CAR031, a CAR-T therapy currently being investigated for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and other solid tumors. According to a company press release, AstraZeneca will pay up to $630 million in upfront and milestone payments for AbelZeta’s stake in the drug, granting the pharma giant sole global rights to the candidate.

C-CAR031 is an autologous, GPC3-targeting CAR-T therapy that was designed using AstraZeneca’s dominant negative transforming growth factor-beta receptor II armoring platform. Results from a 2024 human investigator-initiated trial showed a manageable safety profile and encouraging anti-tumor activity of C-CAR031 in patients with HCC who had received 1-6 lines of prior therapy.

This year’s deal follows on from a 2023 co-development agreement, which granted AstraZeneca 50% of the rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize C-CAR031 in China. AbelZeta retains the rights for milestone and royalty payments on rest of the world development.

“This transaction reflects our commitment to leverage our platform technology to develop novel cell therapies in solid tumors of high unmet medical need, including [HCC], and provides the opportunity to maximize C-CAR031’s global reach,” said Tony (Bizuo) Liu, Chairman and CEO, AbelZeta, in the release.