Astellas and Adaptimmune Enter into Agreement to Co-Develop and Co-Commercialize Stem-Cell Derived Allogeneic CAR-T and TCR T-Cell Therapies - Agreement covers the co-development and co-commercialization of up to three T

Astellas and Adaptimmune Enter into Agreement

to Co-Develop and Co-Commercialize Stem-Cell Derived Allogeneic CAR-T and TCR T-Cell Therapies

- Agreement covers the co-development and

co-commercialization of up to three T-cell therapies -

- Agreement leverages Astellas' Universal

Donor Cell Platform and Adaptimmune's stem-cell derived allogeneic T-cell platform -

- Astellas will pay Adaptimmune an upfront

payment, research funding, development and commercial milestones, and royalties on net sales on co-commercialized products -

TOKYO and PHILADELPHIA, PA, OXFORDSHIRE, United Kingdom, January

14, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astellas Pharma Inc. (TSE: 4503, President and CEO: Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., "Astellas"),

through its wholly-owned subsidiary Universal Cells, Inc, and Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc (Nasdaq:ADAP), a leader in cell therapy

to treat cancer, announced that they have entered into a co-development and co-commercialization agreement to bring new stem-cell

derived allogeneic T-cell therapies to people with cancer.

Astellas and Adaptimmune will agree on up to three targets and

co-develop T-cell therapy candidates directed to those targets. These targets will exclude target specific T-cell products in pre-clinical

or clinical trials or those developed for other partners at Adaptimmune. The collaboration will leverage Adaptimmune's target identification

and validation capabilities for generating target-specific T-cell Receptors (TCRs), chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), and HLA-independent

TCRs that recognize surface epitopes independently of the HLA profile of the tumor cell. The collaboration will also utilize Astellas'

Universal Donor Cell and Gene Editing Platform it obtained through the acquisition of Seattle-based Universal Cells.

Adaptimmune has been collaborating with Universal Cells (now

an Astellas Company) since 2015 on development of gene-edited iPSC cell lines, for which Adaptimmune has rights to develop and

commercialize resulting T-cell therapy products using its proprietary process for generating T cells from stem cells without the

use of feeder cell lines.

Astellas will fund research up until completion of a Phase 1

trial for each candidate. Upon completion of the Phase 1 trial for each candidate, Astellas and Adaptimmune will elect whether

to progress with co-development and co-commercialization of the candidate, or to allow the other Party to pursue the candidate

independently through a milestone and royalty bearing licence, with the agreement allowing for either company to opt out. The companies

will each have a co-exclusive licence covering the co-development and co-commercialization of the product candidates within the

field of T-cell therapy. If a candidate is developed by one company only, the appropriate licences will become exclusive to the

"Astellas positions immuno-oncology as one of its strategic

areas of primary focus, and it is engaged in the development of novel therapies for cancer patients using a new modality/technology,"

stated Naoki Okamura, Representative Director Corporate Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Financial Officer,

Astellas. "In addition to NK cells, T-cells are an important component of cell therapy for immuno-oncology, and we look forward

that this agreement with Adaptimmune will enable us to create new stem-cell derived allogeneic T-cell therapies for a variety of

cancers, including solid tumors, in the future. We will continue to dedicate our efforts in delivering novel treatments for diseases

with high unmet medical needs, pursuing cutting-edge science and technological advances."

"We are delighted to establish this significant co-development

partnership with Astellas, which builds upon and substantially extends an existing collaboration focused on gene editing of iPSC

cells," said Helen Tayton-Martin, Adaptimmune's Chief Business Officer and Co-Founder. "This new collaboration

encompass both CAR-T and TCR T-cell approaches, including our

novel HLA-independent TCR ("HiT") platform. It brings together highly complementary skills and expertise across the

two organizations, and will enable the accelerated development of new, off-the-shelf T-cell therapy products for people with cancer."

Astellas will also have the right to select two targets and

develop allogeneic cell therapy candidates independently. Astellas will have sole rights to develop and commercialize these products,

subject to necessary licenses and the payment of milestones and royalties.

Under the terms of the agreement, Adaptimmune may receive up

to $897.5 million in payments, including:

In addition, Adaptimmune will receive research funding of up

to $7.5 million per year.

Finally, Adaptimmune would receive tiered royalties on net sales

in the mid-single to mid-teen digits.

Under the terms of the agreement, Astellas may receive up to

$552.5 million, including:

In addition, Astellas would receive tiered royalties on net

sales in the mid-single to mid-teen digits.

To the extent that Astellas and Adaptimmune co-develop and co-commercialize

any T-cell therapy, they will equally share the costs of such co-development and co-commercialization, with the resulting profits

from co-commercialization also shared equally. Further details governing co-development and co-commercialization will be articulated

in a product-specific commercialization agreement.

The impact of this transaction on Astellas'

financial results in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020 will be limited.

Adaptimmune is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused

on the development of novel cancer immunotherapy products for people with cancer. The Company's unique SPEAR (Specific Peptide

Enhanced Affinity Receptor) T cell platform enables the engineering

of T-cells to target and destroy cancer across multiple solid tumors. For more information, please visit http://www.adaptimmune.com.

Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, is a company dedicated

to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. For

more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en

Adaptimmune Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking

statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA). These forward-looking

statements involve certain risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ

materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, and include, without limitation: the success, cost and

timing of our product development activities and clinical trials and our ability to successfully advance our TCR therapeutic

candidates through the regulatory and commercialization processes. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties

that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as

risks relating to our business in general, we refer you to our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and

Exchange Commission (SEC) on November 6, 2019, and our other SEC filings. The forward-looking statements contained in this

press release speak only as of the date the statements were made and we do not undertake any obligation to update such

forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Cautionary Notes Regarding Forward-Looking Statements (Astellas)

In this press release, statements made with respect to current

plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about

the future performance of Astellas. These statements are based on management's current assumptions and beliefs in light of

the information currently available to it and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause

actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited

to: (i) changes in general economic conditions and in laws and regulations, relating to pharmaceutical markets, (ii) currency exchange

rate fluctuations, (iii) delays in new product launches, (iv) the inability of Astellas to market existing and new products effectively,

(v) the inability of Astellas to continue to effectively research and develop products accepted by customers in highly competitive

markets, and (vi) infringements of Astellas' intellectual property rights by third parties.

Information about pharmaceutical products (including products

currently in development) which is included in this press release is not intended to constitute an advertisement or medical advice.

Adaptimmune Contacts:

S bastien Desprez - VP, Communications and Investor

Juli P. Miller, Ph.D. - Senior Director, Investor Relations

Contacts for inquiries or additional information:

Astellas Pharma Inc.

Corporate Communications