Cellectis S.A. (NASDAQ: CLLS) is experiencing an extraordinary surge in its stock price, soaring by an impressive 192.01% to reach $2.8150. That is also accompanied by an exceptional trading volume of over 52 million Cellectis shares traded as of the last check during current session. This remarkable upturn of CLLS stock in current trading is primarily attributed to strategic collaborations and investments.
Cellectis recently announced its partnership with AstraZeneca, marked by a Joint Research Collaboration Agreement and an initial equity investment of $80 million. Cellectis also signed a memorandum of understanding (the “MOU”) with AstraZeneca relating to an additional equity investment of $140M.
CLLS primarily entered into the agreement to accelerate the development of cutting-edge therapeutics in areas of significant unmet medical need, including oncology, immunology, and rare diseases. AstraZeneca will harness Cellectis’ proprietary gene editing technologies and manufacturing capabilities to create novel cell and gene therapy candidates.
This collaboration allocates 25 genetic targets exclusively to AstraZeneca, with the potential to explore up to 10 candidate products for development. AstraZeneca retains the option for a global exclusive license for these candidates, exercisable prior to submitting an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Under the Collaboration Agreement, AstraZeneca will fund Cellectis’ research costs and provide an upfront payment of $25 million.
Additionally, Cellectis stands to receive an Investigational New Drug (IND) option fee, along with milestone payments linked to development, regulatory approvals, and sales achievements, ranging from $70 million to $220 million for each of the 10 candidate products, along with structured royalty arrangements.
A condition of this collaboration is AstraZeneca’s $80 million equity investment in Cellectis, involving the acquisition of 16,000,000 ordinary shares at a price of $5.00 per share. These newly issued shares, authorized by Cellectis’ board of directors, are scheduled for settlement and delivery on November 6, 2023.
This investment grants AstraZeneca approximately 22% of Cellectis’ share capital and 21% of its voting rights. Moreover, AstraZeneca gains the right to nominate a non-voting observer on Cellectis’ board of directors and to participate proportionally in Cellectis’ future share offerings.
