AstraZeneca buys China-based Gracell for $1.2B

Details: The cash deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, values Gracell at $2 per ordinary share, or $10 per American Depository Share, of Gracell.

• The price represents a premium of 61.6% from Gracell's last close on Dec. 22.
• AstraZeneca will also acquire Gracell's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $234.1 million as of Sept. 30, 2023.

How it works: Leveraging CAR-T — which uses viral vectors to reengineer the body's cells to attack harmful cells — Gracell develops cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases.

The big picture: The cell therapy space is currently dominated by players like Gilead Sciences, Novartis and Bristol Myers Squibb (which announced a $4.1 billion acquisition of cancer company RayzeBio Tuesday).

The intrigue: The Food and Drug Administration is investigating whether CAR-T immunotherapies can cause lymphoma in some patients after it received reports of serious adverse events in clinical trials and post-marketing studies.