Celgene announces takeover of Quanticel Pharmaceuticals

Celgene has agreed a deal to acquire Quanticel Pharmaceuticals in a transaction worth up to $485 million (314.57 million pounds).

Quanticel is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on cancer drug discovery, which has been working collaboratively with Celgene since 2011 as part of an oncology research alliance.

The acquisition will see Celgene gain full access to Quanticel's proprietary platform for single-cell genomic analysis of cancer, as well as the firm's lead programmes targeting specific epigenetic modifiers, to advance its own pipeline of innovative cancer therapies.

Its existing work with Quanticel has allowed Celgene to help the company industrialise its single-cell platform for analysis of tumour cellular content and apply it to novel target discovery and the generation of high-quality drug candidates.

Dr Tom Daniel, president of research and early development for Celgene, said: "More than acquiring the great team, the novel technology and the drug candidates, the deal validates an innovative approach to building organisational capabilities."

This comes after the firm announced a new immuno-oncology collaboration with AstraZeneca and MedImmune earlier this month.