Takeda added some more firepower to its immuno-oncology game on Monday when the Japanese giant announced it will exercise its option to acquire U.K.-based Adaptate Biotherapeutics.

The planned acquisition will give Takeda full access to Adaptate’s antibody-based γδ T cell engager platform, which includes both pre-clinical and discovery assets. The γδ T cell engagers, which Adaptate has designed to specifically modulate γδ T cell-mediated immune responses at tumor sites while sparing damage to healthy cells, are going up against solid tumors. 

Adaptate spun out from GammaDelta Therapeutics in 2019 – a company Takeda acquired in a similar build-to-buy arrangement in October 2021. GammaDelta focuses on leveraging the unique properties of gamma delta (γδ) T cells for immunotherapy for the treatment of both solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Both deals are part of a larger strategy to enhance Takeda’s IO portfolio built around the innate immune system. On a broader scale, it serves to further accelerate the development of innovative γδ T cell-based therapies.

Takeda’s overall IO strategy is focused on overcoming cancer’s ability to evade immune recognition, leveraging multiple mechanisms and cell types, which include γδ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. 

The combined platforms will compliment Takeda’s ongoing R&D efforts to develop cell engagers for solid tumor applications. Takeda made a big investment in this area in March 2021 when it acquired Maverick Therapeutics, along with its novel T cell engager COBRA platform.

Christopher Arendt, Ph.D., head of Takeda’s oncology cell therapy and therapeutic area unit, elaborated on the company’s build-to-buy strategy. “Partnering with early-stage innovators to access cutting-edge platforms in the fight against cancer is at the center of our R&D strategy,” he said. “Adaptate’s γδ T cell engager platform and the team’s deep understanding of γδ T cell biology gives us an opportunity to develop a new class of therapeutics that tap into powerful innate immune mechanisms.”

When Adaptate was formed in 2019, Takeda’s investment included an exclusive right to purchase the company for a pre-negotiated upfront payment. Takeda expects this transaction, along with the acquisition of GammaDelta, to close in Q1 of Takeda’s fiscal year 2022.

Adaptate CEO Dr. Natalie Mount, Ph.D., heralded the announced acquisition as the “recognition of the tremendous work put in over the last two years by Adaptate’s incredibly talented team. We have rapidly demonstrated, in preclinical models, the therapeutic potential of our novel Vδ1-targeting antibodies, and this move brings us an exciting step closer to realizing the full potential for Vδ1 T cell-targeted therapies to improve treatment outcomes for cancer patients,” she said in a statement.

“Having played an instrumental role in creating Adaptate, we are delighted to see the impressive developments of its γδ T cell therapeutic antibody portfolio to date, under the leadership of Natalie Mount,” said Tim Haines, chair & managing partner at Abingworth LLP., the co-primary investor in Adaptate. “We look forward to seeing Takeda progress Adaptate’s very promising therapeutic antibodies into the clinic