Ligand agrees to fund AvenCell's CAR-T pipeline for up to $47 million
The royalty aggregator will back AvenCell's switchable CAR-T programs AVC-201 and AVC-203 through a tranched financing tied to clinical milestones.
Ligand Pharmaceuticals announced on September 24, 2026 that it entered into a financing agreement with AvenCell Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage cell therapy company developing controllable, allogeneic CAR-T therapies for patients with cancer, for up to $47 million.1 The investment is meant to help advance AvenCell's pipeline, including AVC-201 for relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and AVC-203 for B-cell malignancies.1
Under the deal terms, Ligand has committed up to $41 million in exchange for a mid single-digit to low double-digit royalty on worldwide annual net sales of all current and future AvenCell pipeline assets, including AVC-201 and AVC-203, with the applicable rate determined based on the total amount ultimately funded.1 The capital will be funded in four tranches, with the first payable at closing and the remaining three tranches payable upon achievement of certain predetermined clinical milestones and other specified financing conditions.1 Separately, Ligand has also committed up to $6 million in concomitant Series C financing, details of which will be announced separately.1
On the science, AvenCell was founded in 2021 combining switchable CAR-T technology developed by GEMoaB GmbH, now AvenCell Europe GmbH, with Intellia's CRISPR/Cas9-based Allogeneic Engineering Technology to develop next-generation cell therapies designed to overcome key limitations of existing CAR-T treatments.1 The company's lead program, AVC-201, is an anti-CD123 CAR-T currently in a Ph1b expansion trial for the treatment of relapsed or refractory AML.1 AvenCell is also advancing AVC-203, a Phase 1a program for B-cell malignancies.1
Ligand described its business role, saying it is a leading royalty aggregator, partnering with biopharmaceutical companies to finance and advance late-stage clinical development programs, and owns economic interests in more than 200 development and commercial-stage assets.1 Hogan Lovells Cadwalader served as legal advisor to Ligand on the transaction.1
Written by readthrough’s AI from the linked primary sources and fact-checked against them automatically before publishing. Not investment advice.