Celgene adds to cancer tech

Celgene announced 27 April that it's added to its oncology pipeline with the acquisition of privately-held biotech Quanticel Pharmaceuticals. The deal will give the big biotech access to Quanticel's proprietary platform for the single-cell genomic analysis of human cancer, as well as its lead programs that target specific epigenetic modifiers. The pair have been partners or more than three years and have been using the smaller biotech's technology platform to discover new drug candidates, which are expected to enter the clinic in 2016. Celgene is paying $100m in cash upfront on the deal and has promised $385m in further milestones payments based on R&D and regulatory successes of the platform.