Vertex pays $28 million upfront to AbCellera for autoimmune T-cell engager collaboration

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has entered a collaboration with AbCellera, paying an upfront sum of $28 million to access the latter’s T-cell engager platform for autoimmune disease programs.

Under the agreement, AbCellera will lead discovery and early development, while Vertex will fund research costs and obtain rights to develop any TCE candidates that emerge.

The deal also includes potential milestone payments and tiered royalties on future sales, and may expand to include cell line development, process development, and clinical manufacturing through Phase 1 if the partners agree.

This partnership follows a recent Jazz Pharmaceuticals agreement with AbCellera that focused on cancer and involved a larger upfront payment, highlighting growing interest in TCE technology across therapeutic areas.