Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN) announced that it will acquire Gracell Biotechnologies (GRCL), a Chinese concept stock based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, at a total price of up to US$1.2 billion, in a bid to further advance its cell therapy ambitions. Biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN) announced that it will acquire Gracell Biotechnologies (GRCL), a Chinese concept stock based in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, at a total price of up to US$1.2 billion, in a bid to further advance its cell therapy ambitions. Shareholders of Gracell Biotechnologies will receive US$2 in cash per share of Gracell's common stock upon completion of the transaction. If specified regulatory milestones are met, shareholders will also be entitled to an additional non-tradable contingent value right (CVR) of US$0.3 per share of Gracell's common stock. AstraZeneca noted that it will also acquire approximately US$230 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments held by Gracell Biotechnologies as of the end of September this year. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year. Gracell Biotechnologies will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca, conducting business in China and the United States, and will not impact AstraZeneca's financial guidance for the current year. Susan Galbraith, Executive Vice President of Oncology Research and Development at AstraZeneca, stated that the proposed acquisition will complement AstraZeneca's existing capabilities and prior investments in the field of cell therapy. Gracell Biotechnologies stated that the proposed acquisition will add GC012F CAR-T cell therapy to AstraZeneca's expanding cell therapy pipeline. As a core product developed based on the FasTCAR technology platform, GC012F is an innovative clinical-stage BCMA/CD19 dual-target autologous chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapy, which is expected to become a new generation of treatment options for multiple myeloma, various other malignant hematological tumors and autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Gracell Biotechnologies completed its initial public offering (IPO) on the NASDAQ in the United States on January 8, 2021, issuing 11 million common shares globally at an offering price of US$19 per share, raising US$209 million. On the first trading day of the IPO, its market capitalization reached US$1.589 billion. Gracell Biotechnologies was also the first Chinese concept stock to complete an IPO in the United States in 2021. © 2021 Meishun (Hong Kong) Management Consulting Co., Ltd. and Meishun (Hangzhou) Management Consulting Co., Ltd. All rights reserved. Meishun Meiyin (Hangzhou) Consulting & Management Co., Ltd. is a domestic subsidiary of Hong Kong Meishun Management Consulting Co., Ltd. under the same ultimate beneficial owner. Both companies share the same ultimate beneficial owner, are managed as a single China-based enterprise, and comply with the laws of Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China.