Zydus Lifesciences Subsidiary Zynext to Acquire 5.9% Stake in Agenus for $16 Million

3 Jun 2025 , 11:05 PM

Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. on 3rd June, announced that its Wholly Owned Subsidiary Zynext Venture USA LLC. (Zynext) has entered into Securities Purchase Aggreement with Agenus Inc., USA.

Under the agreement, Zynext will acquire 2,133,333 common shares of Agenus for a total consideration of $16 million, representing a 5.9% stake on a fully diluted basis.

The acquisition is priced at $7.50 per share and will be completed in cash within 60 days, subject to regulatory approvals, including:

• Clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, and
• Approval from the Committee for Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

The transaction may be extended by 30 days, if required, to meet regulatory conditions. Agenus’ lead platform includes Botensilimab (BOT) and Balstilimab (BAL) next-generation immunotherapy agents currently undergoing advanced clinical trials.

These therapies, which have demonstrated clinical activity in nine cancer types and have been used to treat more than 1,200 patients, include late-stage and neoadjuvant settings.

Zynext Ventures is the venture capital arm of Zydus Lifesciences while this transaction is in line with the company’s plan to invest in breakthrough, high-impact therapies. Based in Lexington, Massachusetts, Agenus focuses on the development of checkpoint antibodies, cancer vaccines and cell therapies.

The company generated revenue of $103.46 million in CY2024. Zydus said the investment is not a related party transaction and that none of the promoter group entities of Zydus will have any shareholding in the investment.

Alongside capital, Zynext Ventures will provide its data analytics expertise and access to a global biotech and clinical network to help facilitate Agenus’ entry into broader use case applications for cancer treatment. The strategic investment also widens Zydus’ footprint in the global biopharma ecosystem and underlines its commitment to creating solutions for unmet medical needs.

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