AstraZeneca agreed to acquire the remaining China rights to AbelZeta’s armored CAR‑T candidate C‑CAR031 for up to $630 million, moving from a shared-rights arrangement to full global ownership of the GPC3‑directed cell therapy. The transaction consolidates AstraZeneca’s control over a therapy that showed objective response rates up to 75% at the highest dose in an early Chinese first‑in‑human study and aligns with the pharma’s strategy to expand cell therapy assets for solid tumors such as hepatocellular carcinoma. AbelZeta will receive upfront and milestone payments under undisclosed terms; AbelZeta emphasized strategic and cultural fit in public comments. AstraZeneca previously shelved AZD5851, the internal CAR‑T from which C‑CAR031 was derived, but cited the AbelZeta asset as complementary to its armoring platform and global development plans.