Astellas, Vir announce global strategic collaboration

Astellas Pharma (ALPMY) and Vir Biotechnology (VIR) announced they have entered into a global strategic collaboration to advance VIR-5500, an investigational PRO-XTEN dual-masked CD3 T-cell engager targeting PSMA for the treatment of prostate cancer. The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of VIR-5500 and further strengthen Astellas’ oncology pipeline and prostate cancer leadership. Adam Pearson, Chief Strategy Officer, Astellas, said, “Astellas is proud to have helped 1.5 million patients with prostate cancer, and we are dedicated to expanding our impact as part of our R&D strategy. Our deep expertise in this disease area, combined with a growing immuno-oncology (IO) pipeline of biologics, including T-cell engagers, uniquely positions us to help advance VIR-5500, a potentially best-in-class T-cell engager for prostate cancer. This strategic collaboration allows Astellas and Vir Biotechnology to combine our expertise and reaffirms our commitment to improving the lives of people with prostate cancer.”