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iStock, Robert Way Monday was a busy day for AstraZeneca, which also paid up to $1 billion to acquire Belgian biotech EsoBiotec and its cell therapy pipeline and technology. AstraZeneca capped off a hectic Monday with a deal potentially totaling $1.35 billion with South Korean biotech Alteogen to advance novel subcutaneous therapies for cancer. The pact, reported by several news outlets, involves two separate contracts, according to Fierce Pharma , citing a Google-translated filing from Alteogen. The first agreement will see AstraZeneca make a $25 million upfront payment and commit up to $725 million in potential milestones, while AstraZeneca will front $20 million in the second deal, alongside a potential $580 million in future payments. BioSpace has reached out to both Alteogen and AstraZeneca for independent confirmation of these details and to obtain more information on the overall partnership. At the center of Monday’s deal is Alteogen’s proprietary recombinant hyaluronidase enzyme ALT-B4, which enables the subcutaneous administration of large volumes of drugs that would otherwise need to be delivered intravenously. Through the Alteogen deal, AstraZeneca bought worldwide rights over ALT-B4, which it plans to use to develop subcutaneous formulations of “several assets in our portfolio,” CMO Cristian Massacesi said in a prepared statement on Monday. The pharma has yet to specify which these assets are, with Massacesi only noting that this thrust is part of the pharma’s aim to develop new cancer treatment options “that can transform the way cancer care is delivered.” The partnership with AstraZeneca is similar to deals Alteogen has struck with other pharmas to incorporate hyaluronidase into their drugs. The company has collaborations with Merck to work on Keytruda formulations, and with Daichii Sankyo to incorporate ALT-B4 into Enhertu, the cancer drug Daichii developed and co-commercialized with AstraZeneca. Also on Monday, AstraZeneca inked a potential $1 billion agreement to buy Belgian biotech EsoBiotec, gaining access to its cell therapy pipeline and technology. The buyout, once it clears customary conditions and closes in the second quarter of 2025, will give the pharma access to the ENaBL platform, which allows for in vivo cell engineering, reprogramming patients’ cells inside their bodies. As in the case of Alteogen, AstraZeneca will leverage the EsoBiotec deal for a stronger position in cancer, while also boosting its capabilities in autoimmune and other immune-mediated conditions. AstraZeneca on Monday also unveiled high-level results from the Phase III CALYPSO trial of its parathyroid hormone receptor 1 agonist eneboparatide, being developed for chronic hypoparathyroidism. At 24 weeks, the pharma reported that the candidate met the study’s primary composite endpoint of normalization of albumin-adjusted serum calcium concentrations and independence from active vitamin D and oral calcium therapy. AstraZeneca did not provide more specific data in its news release.

AstraZeneca is betting roughly $1.35 billion on Korean biotech Alteogen to help develop under-the-skin versions of multiple oncology therapies. The British pharma will license ALT-B4, a compound that uses a specific enzyme to more efficiently produce subcutaneous versions of other drugs. Daiichi Sankyo signed onto a similar licensing deal with Alteogen in November 2024 to help make subcutaneous versions of its AstraZeneca-partnered breast cancer drug Enhertu. Alteogen will receive $45 million upfront with more than $1.3 billion available in additional milestone payments. The deal terms were translated from Korean financial filings using Google Translate. A spokesperson for AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “We look forward to collaborating with Alteogen on several assets in our portfolio with the goal of bringing new subcutaneous options to patients that can transform the way cancer care is delivered,” AstraZeneca CMO and oncology chief development officer Cristian Massacesi said in a prepared statement on Monday. The agreement thrusts AstraZeneca squarely into a contentious patent battle involving ALT-B4. Halozyme recently sued Merck, alleging that the pharma’s subcutaneous Keytruda product infringed on its own subQ patent. Merck is using ALT-B4 to make its injectable product. Halozyme executives said at a recent healthcare conference that they hope to sign a licensing deal with Merck and move on. If that doesn’t happen, it may seek an injunction preventing subcutaneous Keytruda from being sold. Patent rights were assessed as part of the deal discussions with AstraZeneca, Alteogen CEO Park Soon-jae said in a release . “This agreement was finalized after due diligence, including assessments of substance stability and patent rights,” he said.