Turnstone Biologics Acquired for Under $8M After High-Profile Deals with AbbVie and Takeda
Turnstone Biologics
Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapy Researcher
XOMA
Biotechnology Royalty Aggregator
Turnstone Biologics' journey came to an end on June 27, 2025.
XOMA Royalty Corporation Announces Definitive Merger Agreement to Acquire Turnstone for $0.34 Per Share in Cash Plus a Non-Transferable Contingent Value Right (CVR)The total value of this acquisition is less than 8 million US dollars., which is undoubtedly a bleak ending for a biotechnology company that once attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment.
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The outcome of this acquisition was a reluctant choice for Turnstone after facing a series of severe challenges. Prior to the acquisition, the company was on the brink of collapse as its only clinical-stage program was forced to terminate this year due to exorbitant manufacturing costs. This led to another round of layoffs and prompted the company to seek strategic alternatives.
On February 4, 2025, Turnstone Biologics announced due to manufacturing cost issues,Will terminate the development of its last clinical-stage candidate drug, TIDAL-01., including all clinical studies involving tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy in solid tumors.
The manufacturing of TIL therapy requires continuous investment in process improvements. Considering these capital-intensive requirements and future funding needs, the company decided to halt the development of TIDAL-01. At the time, the Turnstone Biologics board was actively exploring strategic alternatives aimed at maximizing shareholder value.
Reviewing the journey of Turnstone Biologics, there were once glorious highlights.
Collaboration with AbbVie
As early as October 10, 2017, Turnstone Biologics reached a significant agreement with pharmaceutical giant AbbVie,AbbVie Obtains Options for Three Oncolytic Virus Immunotherapies from Turnstone Biologics.This agreement specifically focuses on Turnstone's leading MAGEA3 candidate drug, Ad-MG1-MAGEA3, which was undergoing Phase I/II clinical trials as a monotherapy and in combination with Merck's Keytruda for the treatment of solid tumors at the time.
Turnstone Biologics CEO Dr. Sammy Farah has confidently stated that this virus is capable of detecting and killing cancer cells throughout the body while acting as a vaccine mechanism by generating a strong and widespread T-cell response against the MAGEA3 antigen.Although neither side disclosed the detailed financial terms, Turnstone believed that this deal had reached a high watermark in the oncolytic virus field.The CEO called it the largest partnership in the history of the oncolytic virus field.
This agreement provides Turnstone with substantial resources to advance existing projects and expand its internal pipeline. Not long after,In November 2017, Turnstone successfully completed a $41.4 million Series B financing to fund its Phase I/II clinical trials.
Collaboration with Takeda
On December 19, 2019, Turnstone's momentum grew even stronger as it reached an agreement with Takeda.Up to nearly US$1 billionBiological licensing deal. This agreement includes a substantial$120 Million Upfront PaymentTakeda has obtained the global exclusive co-development and co-commercialization license for Turnstone's early-stage oncolytic candidate drug RIVAL-01, and Turnstone is eligible to receive milestone payments of up to 900 million US dollars.
According to the agreement, the two parties will equally share global costs and profits and jointly develop other drugs on Turnstone Biologics' vaccinia virus platform. RIVAL-01 is designed to express transgenes such as Flt3 ligand, anti-CTLA-4 antibody, and IL-12 cytokine when the virus enters and replicates within cancer cells, aiming to deliver immunomodulators to primary and metastatic tumor sites while limiting systemic toxicity.
However, despite the promising prospects,AbbVie terminated its collaboration with Turnstone Biologics in 2019. Takeda's agreement was also terminated in 2024.This means that Turnstone will no longer receive any additional collaboration revenue from the Takeda agreement.
Despite once holding massive collaborations, Turnstone Biologics' fate took a sharp downturn. After going public through an $80 million IPO in 2023, the company faced severe challenges.
The focus has shifted to tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, but the high manufacturing cost has become its main obstacle. In August 2024, Turnstone Biologics had to narrow the focus of its selected TIL therapy, TIDAL-01, discontinuing research on cutaneous melanoma and breast cancer, while retaining only colorectal cancer, head and neck cancer, and uveal melanoma.
In order to maintain this scaled-down program, the company had to carry out layoffs in October 2024.Reduced 60% of the workforce.These measures failed to save the company from its困境, ultimately leading to the termination of its core clinical programs and the sale of the company.
The acquirer, XOMA Royalty Corporation, is a biotechnology royalty aggregator whose business model involves acquiring future economic rights associated with milestones and/or royalties in drug development. By providing non-dilutive, non-recourse funding, XOMA Royalty helps biotech companies advance their internal drug candidate pipelines.Through the acquisition of Turnstone, XOMA Royalty will gain access to Turnstone's remaining cash reserves as well as its tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte pipeline and technology.
Turnstone Biologics' board of directors, after a comprehensive review and with the assistance of legal and financial advisors, unanimously determined that this acquisition is in the best interest of all shareholders.This transaction is expected to be completed in August 2025, marking the official curtain call for Turnstone Biologics on the biotech stage.
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