Scribe Therapeutics’ CRISPR by Design will be combined with Prevail Therapeutics’ knowledge in developing genetic medicines to treat neurological disorders.
The collaboration between Scribe and Eli Lilly subsidiary, Prevail Lilly, which the company agreed to buy in December 2020 for $880 million will advance in vivo CRISPR-based genetic medicines for neurological and neuromuscular diseases.
Under the terms of the deal, Prevail will gain the rights to Scribe’s CRISPR X-Editing (XE) technologies. The technology is used for the development of in vivo therapies, and it works by reaching specific targets that are known to cause neurological and neuromuscular diseases.
DepositPhotos/ALotOfPeople
“Scribe’s X-Editing technologies and platform are enabled by our “CRISPR by Design” approach to transforming CRISPR enzymes from bacterial immune systems into therapeutically active genetic medicines through holistic molecular engineering,” Scribe CEO Benjamin Oakes told BioProcess Insider.
“Within our broader toolkit, the collaboration with Prevail-Lilly focuses on applying Scribe’s X-Editing technologies, including proprietary gene editors and delivery systems for such. The XE was engineered from CRISPR-CasX by optimizing >100 changes in both the protein and RNA for the characteristics of activity, specificity, and delivery.”
Scribe claimed its platform is “the first of its kind” to apply holistic engineering to alter bacterial immune systems into the required genome editing technologies that target the specific needs of patients.
Oakes said he could not divulge the length of the collaboration but told us “Scribe will continue to work out of our Alameda labs and headquarters and Prevail out of their New York offices.” Additionally, Scribe will continue to grow its team “to meet the needs of this collaboration as well as our other internal programs.”
Scribe will receive an upfront payment of $75 million with the potential to earn over $1.5 billion dependent on specific milestones and tiered royalties. The deal includes an option for Scribe to jointly fund and share profits on a singular program in the US from the partnership.
You May Also Like
