Concentra picks up a new Cargo
The Tang Capital Partners vehicle has already acquired IGM, Elevation and Kronos.
The Tang Capital Partners vehicle has already acquired IGM, Elevation and Kronos.
One biotech buyout trend this year has been the acquisitions of distressed biotechs, and Concentra Biosciences has struck more deals of this kind than most. Its latest came on Tuesday, when it picked up the erstwhile Car-T specialist Cargo Therapeutics.
The deal adds to swoops this year for IGM, once an oncology player, Elevation Oncology and Kronos Bio. Outside cancer Concentra, which is which is backed by Tang Capital Partners, has also nabbed the autoimmune player Allakos. And it has been knocked back by the integrin specialist Pliant, which has an oncology presence, and Acelyrin, which doesn’t.
Concentra, known for buying biotechs and closing them down, is probably most interested in its targets’ cash balance. Cargo had $368m as of the end of 2024, soon after which it scrapped its lead project, the autologous anti-CD22 Car firicabtagene autoleucel, and pivoted to a preclinical project, CRG-023. A couple of months later that asset was canned as well.
The Cargo deal is worth around $202m in cash up front, and additionally includes a contingent value right, giving shareholders any net cash over $217.5m at closing, and 80% of proceeds from the sale of its assets. The other oncology deals have similar CVRs.
Concentra Biosciences’ 2025 acquisitions
| Target | Speciality | Financials | Total | CVR terms | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cargo Therapeutics | Car-T | $4.379/share | $202m | 100% of closing net cash >$217.5m & 80% of net proceeds from sale of certain product candidates within 2 years of closing | 8 Jul 2025 |
| IGM Biosciences | Had once been active in antibodies using atypical immunoglobulin isotypes | $1.247/share | $76m | 100% of closing net cash >$82.0m & 80% of net proceeds from sale of certain product candidates & IP within 1 year of closing | 1 Jul 2025 |
| Elevation Oncology | ADCs | $0.36/share | $21m | 100% of closing net cash >$26.4m & 80% of net proceeds from sale of EO-1022 within 1 year of closing | 9 June 2025 |
| Kronos Bio | Transcription factor targeting | $0.57/share | $35m | 50% of net proceeds from sale of KB-9558 & KB-7898 within 2 years of closing; 100% of net proceeds of sale of KB-0742, lanraplenib and entospletinib prior to closing & proceeds dependent on cost savings | 1 May 2025 |
| Allakos | Immunology | $0.33/share | $30m | N/A | 2 Apr 2025 |
Source: OncologyPipeline.
In some cases the assets on offer aren’t named, but for the ADC specialist Elevation the preclinical anti-HER3-targeting EO-1022 is up for grabs. The group shifted to this project after the failure of its Claudin18.2-targeting ADC EO-3021.
Kronos, meanwhile, has various projects on offer, including the p300 KAT inhibitor KB-9558, the CDK9 inhibitor KB-0742, and the Syk inhibitors lanraplenib and entospletinib. However, the last three assets were deprioritised well before the deal was struck.
Given the lack of interest in these projects so far, it seems unlikely that any other company will be keen to take them forward. Indeed, the Concentra transactions merely highlight the desperation of the group’s targets. If the gloomy biotech sentiment continues Concentra could have more pickings before the year is out.
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