India Pharma Outlook Team | Wednesday, 21 January 2026
AstraZeneca AbelZeta C-CAR031 took center stage today as the two companies reshaped their partnership.
AstraZeneca announced it will acquire AbelZeta Pharma’s remaining 50% stake in the China development and commercialization rights to C-CAR031, giving the pharma giant full global control of the cell therapy program.
Under the agreement, AbelZeta is set to receive up to $630 million. The package includes an upfront payment along with development, regulatory, and sales-based milestone payments tied to the GPC3 program in China. The agreement consolidates AstraZeneca's place within the booming oncology industry while simultaneously giving the AbelZeta organization substantial near- and long-term advantages.
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Prior to this agreement, AstraZeneca already had permission to develop, manufacture, and market C-CAR031 in territories outside of the People's Republic of China. Even after selling its China stake, AbelZeta remains eligible for additional milestone payments and royalties linked to the therapy’s global development and commercial success.
“This transaction reflects our commitment to leverage our platform technology to develop novel cell therapies in solid tumors of high unmet medical need, including Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and provides the opportunity to maximize C-CAR031's global reach,” said Tony (Bizuo) Liu, Chairman and CEO of AbelZeta.
Currently undergoing trials in HCC and numerous other types of solid tumors, C-CAR031 is an autologous CAR-T treatment with a focus on Glypican-3 (GPC3). C-CAR031 employs AstraZeneca’s superior negative TGF-Beta Receptor II platform. This landmark relationship between AstraZeneca and AbelZeta represents a growing confidence in CAR-T solutions beyond hematological malignancies.
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