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- EsoBiotec
EsoBiotec Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
EsoBiotec was acquired by AstraZeneca for $1B in March 2025.
Cumulative funding EsoBiotec raised
$6M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in EsoBiotec
S.R.I.W.
Sambrinvest
Thuja Capital
Invivo Capital Partners
UCB Ventures
About EsoBiotec
EsoBiotec is a Ghent-based biotechnology firm advancing in vivo cell therapies for solid tumors. The company engineers T-cells via its proprietary EsoCell platform to express chimeric antigen receptors directly in patients, avoiding ex vivo manipulation. Targeting KRAS-mutated cancers like pancreatic and colorectal, EsoBiotec's lead ESO-T01 entered Phase I trials in 2022 across Belgium and Spain. Founded in 2016 from Ghent University spin-out, it collaborates with Janssen on delivery vectors and holds patents for non-viral gene editing in Europe and US.
Founded
2020
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B
Revenue model
Licensing
Valuation
$1B (acquired Mar 2025)
Sectors
EsoBiotec Acquisition
EsoBiotec was acquired by AstraZeneca for $1B on 17 March 2025.
Before the acquisition EsoBiotec had raised $6M across 2 funding rounds.
EsoBiotec, a Belgium-based biotechnology company, develops in vivo cell therapies using its Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform, which genetically modifies immune cells directly inside the body to target cancers and immune-mediated diseases, enabling treatments in minutes rather than weeks of ex vivo processing. AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, announced a definitive agreement in March 2025 to acquire all outstanding equity of EsoBiotec for up to $1 billion on a cash and debt-free basis, including an upfront payment of $425 million at closing and up to $575 million in milestone payments contingent on development and regulatory achievements. The deal strengthens AstraZeneca's oncology and cell therapy pipeline by integrating EsoBiotec's scalable platform, addressing manufacturing complexities and expanding patient access, with the transaction expected to close in Q2 2025 and later confirmed as successfully completed, making EsoBiotec a wholly owned subsidiary operating from Belgium without impacting AstraZeneca's 2025 financial guidance. The strategic rationale focuses on advancing ENaBL's early-stage promise in oncology and autoimmune disorders, complementing AstraZeneca's recent cell therapy investments and positioning it to lead in next-generation therapies amid evolving cell therapy landscapes. EsoBiotec maintains its Belgian base post-acquisition, with CEO Jean-Pierre Latere highlighting synergies for accelerating broad therapeutic applications, while AstraZeneca's EVP Susan Galbraith emphasized scaling innovative treatments globally. The acquisition signals opportunities for efficient cell therapies in markets like India, though no direct involvement of AstraZeneca Pharma India is specified.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Mar 2025 | Strategic M&A | $1B |
EsoBiotec Funding History
EsoBiotec has raised a total of $6M across 2 funding rounds.
EsoBiotec's first fundraising round was a $4M seed round in September 2021. The most recent completed round was a $2M Series A in December 2023.
EsoBiotec funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 2023 | Series A | Invivo Capital Partners | $2M | EsoBiotec is a Belgian biotechnology company developing engineered in vivo cell therapies for cancer treatment using its proprietary Engineered NanoBody Lentiviral (ENaBL) platform. Founded approximately four years prior to 2025, the company focuses on creating off-the-shelf cell therapy options that can be administered via intravenous injection, eliminating the need for ex vivo cell modification. In December 2023, Invivo Ventures committed €2 million as part of a larger Series A funding round that was expected to close in 2024, following a 2021 seed round backed by UCB Ventures, Thuja Capital, Sambrinvest, and Wallonie Entreprendre. The company's lead program targeting BCMA advanced into clinical development with encouraging early patient data presented at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. In March 2025, AstraZeneca acquired EsoBiotec for a total consideration of $1 billion, comprising $425 million upfront and up to $575 million in development and regulatory milestones, integrating EsoBiotec's platform with AstraZeneca's broader cell therapy strategy. |
| Sep 2021 | Seed | Thuja Capital (lead); UCB Ventures (lead); S.R.I.W.; Sambrinvest | $4M | EsoBiotec is a biotech company focused on healthcare manufacturing and pharmaceutical development. In September 2021, the company raised capital in a pre-Series A funding round led by Thuja Capital and UCB Ventures, with participation from SRIW Life Sciences and Sambrinvest. The company has raised a cumulative $12.66 million across 5 funding rounds as of its acquisition in March 2025. |
Who has invested in EsoBiotec?
5 investors have backed EsoBiotec across its funding rounds, including S.R.I.W., Sambrinvest, Thuja Capital, Invivo Capital Partners and UCB Ventures.
Lead investors include Thuja Capital and UCB Ventures.
EsoBiotec Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Participant | Sep 2021 | ||
| 1 | Participant | Dec 2023 | ||
| 1 | Lead | Sep 2021 | ||
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
Sign up to see data on 350K+ funding rounds and disclosed revenue and EBITDA valuation multiples, from seed, through growth stage, to pre-IPO.
Start Free TrialEsoBiotec Competitors
EsoBiotec competitors include listed companies like Arbutus Biopharma and Kolon TissueGene, and private ones like BenevolentAI, Immunai, IntraBio and Orca Bio.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | $10M | - | $1B | 100.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Private | - | - | $1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $14M | ($37M) | $1B | 6.8x | ||
| Publicly listed | $4M | ($141M) | $1B | 239.4x |
EsoBiotec Public Comps
EsoBiotec is no longer listed, but its public comps include Arbutus Biopharma, Kolon TissueGene, Star Lake Bioscience, SSY Group, Helus Pharma, Alumis, GuangYuYuan Chinese, Vetoquinol, Amphastar Pharma and Adlai Nortye.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $14M | ($37M) | 64.6x | 6.8x | (24.6x) | - | |||
| $4M | ($141M) | 261.1x | 239.4x | (7.0x) | (57.8x) | |||
| $2.4B | $314M | 0.8x | 0.8x | 6.0x | 7.3x | |||
| $530M | $144M | 2.5x | - | 9.2x | - | |||
| - | ($153M) | - | - | (5.4x) | (4.8x) | |||
| $24M | ($263M) | 22.6x | 47.6x | (2.1x) | (1.5x) | |||
| $204M | $23M | 4.5x | - | 40.5x | - | |||
| $605M | $127M | 1.3x | 1.3x | 5.9x | 5.9x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all EsoBiotec competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about EsoBiotec
| When was EsoBiotec founded? | EsoBiotec was founded in 2020. |
| Where is EsoBiotec headquartered? | EsoBiotec is headquartered in Mont-Saint-Guibert, Belgium. |
| Is EsoBiotec publicly listed? | No, EsoBiotec was acquired by AstraZeneca in March 2025. |
| Who acquired EsoBiotec? | EsoBiotec was acquired by AstraZeneca in March 2025. |
| How much was EsoBiotec acquired for? | EsoBiotec was acquired for $1B in March 2025. |
| How much funding has EsoBiotec raised? | EsoBiotec has raised $6M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was EsoBiotec's last funding round? | EsoBiotec's last funding round was a $2M Series A in December 2023. |
| Who are EsoBiotec's investors? | EsoBiotec's investors include S.R.I.W., Invivo Capital Partners, Thuja Capital, UCB Ventures and Sambrinvest. |
| Which companies are comparable to EsoBiotec? | Companies comparable to EsoBiotec include BenevolentAI, Immunai, IntraBio, Orca Bio, Arbutus Biopharma and Kolon TissueGene. |
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