17. March 2025
(CONNECT) Araris Biotech from Au in the canton of Zurich is being fully acquired by Taiho Pharmaceutical. According to a press release issued by Araris, the company is set to receive an initial payment of 400 million US dollars from the Tokyo-based firm, which specializes in the area of research and development with a focus on oncology. The agreement also encompasses additional payments of 740 million US dollars, bringing the total value of the transaction to 1.14 billion US dollars overall. Araris and Taiho first entered into a partnership back in November 2023.
Araris was formed in 2019 by Dr. Philipp Spycher as a spin-off on the basis of research work carried out at the Center for Radiopharmaceutical Sciences of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Villigen in the canton of Aargau, Switzerland. As PSI writes in a press release of its own with the headline of “A superlative milestone”, Araris will now become the first PSI spin-off to attain unicorn status.
The company develops novel antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) for targeted cancer therapy. These ADCs are produced using its proprietary linker technology. In this novel therapeutic approach, cell and cytotoxic drugs are bound to antibodies via a connection known as a linker. In turn, this acts as a “Trojan horse” to transport the drug directly to the tumor cell and kill it.
The method binding antibody to drug developed by Araris is more efficient and easier to manufacture than previously used constructs, according to the PSI. Therefore, the company is set to remain a subsidiary of Taiho and will continue its operations in Switzerland.
Spycher, the current Chief Scientific Officer and former CEO of Araris, was reportedly supported by the technology transfer team at PSI during his journey from researcher to entrepreneur, before eventually setting up the spin-off. “Hence”, as PSI writes in the press release, “the acquisition is a huge success not only for Araris Biotech AG, but also for PSI”. ce/mm
