French CAR-Treg firm rockets on news of takeover bid

Shares of French biotech TxCell (Euronext Paris: TXCL) soared more than 151% to 2.33 euros on the news of a takeover bid for the company.

TxCell has entered into a definitive agreement with Sangamo Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SGMO) for the US firm to acquire a majority stake in the company at a price of 2.58 euros per share, or around 72 million euros ($84 million), on a debt-free and cash-free basis. Subject to satisfaction of closing conditions (including in particular those relating to regulations governing foreign investments in France), Sangamo expects to complete the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2018.

With its highly skilled and experienced team, TxCell is a leader in the emerging field of regulatory chimeric antigen receptor T cell (Treg) development for immunological diseases, one of Sangamo’s stated therapeutic areas of focus for its proprietary product candidate pipeline. Tregs are a naturally occurring subset of T cells and are critical for maintaining immune homeostasis within the body by induction and maintenance of tolerance to self-antigens.