Astellas Pharma obtains Universal Cells

Astellas Pharma has acquired Universal Cells. Astellas will gain Universal Cells’ proprietary Universal Donor Cell technology to create cell therapy products that do not require Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) matching, potentially overcoming a huge treatment challenge by reducing the risk of rejection.

The acquisition combines Astellas’ capability of establishing differentiated functional cells from pluripotent stem cells with Universal Cell’s ability to produce pluripotent stem cells that have lower
immunological rejection to further enable investigation of innovative cell therapy treatments for various diseases that currently have few or no treatment options.

Yoshihiko Hatanaka, President and CEO, Astellas commented “We have been very impressed with Universal Cells’ capabilities in cell therapy,including Universal Donor Cell technology, which led us to our initial collaboration and ultimately this acquisition.”