Cha Biotech sells eye-cell technology to Japan's Astellas for $32 mn

The S.Korean biotech firm will receive an upfront payment of $15 mn and up to $17 mn in milestone payments

Cha Biotech sells eye-cell technology to Japan's Astellas for mn
Ji-Hyun Lee 1
2023-03-03 14:39:44 bluesky@hankyung.com
Bio & Pharma

Cha Biotech, a South Korean biotechnology company, said on Thursday that it agreed to sell its technology for developing eye-cell therapies to Astellas Regenerative Medicine Center, a US-based unit of Japan’s Astellas Pharma Inc., for $32 million.

The deal involves the transfer of Cha Biotech’s retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells and embryonic cell technologies, which are used to treat diseases that cause blindness, such as age-related macular degeneration.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Korean company will receive an upfront payment of $15 million and up to $17 million in milestone payments based on the progress of the development and commercialization of the eye-cell products.

As a result of the transaction, Cha Biotech said it will end its ongoing clinical trial of retinal pigment epithelial cell therapy for dry age-related macular degeneration in Korea. The company had been conducting the trial since 2012 after obtaining approval from the Korean Food and Drug Administration.

Write to Ji-Hyun Lee at bluesky@hankyung.com
##Cha Biotech Astellas Renenerative ##Cha Biotech Astellas #korea cha-biotech astellas #cha biotech rpe

S.Korean biotech firm Genesystem to bring molecular testing to India

S.Korean biotech firm Genesystem to bring molecular testing to India

Genesystem's on-site molecular testing platform UF340 Genesystem, a South Korean biotech firm specializing in on-site molecular testing platforms, announced on Tuesday its entry into the Indian market through a local sales and production partnership with an unnamed Indian company. The deal will

S.Korea, Japan compete in gastroesophageal reflux drug market

S.Korea, Japan compete in gastroesophageal reflux drug market

HK inno.N's K-Cab (left) and Daewoong Pharma's Fexuclu South Korea is battling Japan again, this time on the global market to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). South Korea's pharmaceutical product maker HK Inno.N is expanding the number of licensing offices for its GERD drug K-Cab,

Korean biotechs target US labs to speed up regulatory approval for tests

Korean biotechs target US labs to speed up regulatory approval for tests

NGeneBio CEO Choi Dae-chul South Korean molecular diagnostics companies are increasingly buying high-quality laboratories in the US that meet federal regulatory standards in a bid to accelerate clinical studies.NGeneBio Co., a Seoul-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) services provider, biot
(* comment hide *}