Editas Medicine Strikes License Deal With Vertex Pharmaceuticals -- Update

By Dean Seal

Editas Medicine has agreed to license Vertex Pharmaceuticals its Cas9 gene editing technology for ex vivo gene editing medicines targeted at sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.

The clinical-stage genome editing company said Wednesday that under the terms of the agreement, Vertex will obtain a non-exclusive license for the technology in medicines targeting the BCL11A gene in the fields of sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia, which includes the cell-based gene therapy Casgevy.

The deal extends Editas' cash runway into 2026, the company said.

In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Editas said it would get an upfront cash payment of $50 million as part of the licensing deal. It is also eligible for an additional $50 million contingent upfront payment.

The company would also be entitled to license fees between $10 million and $40 million annually, including certain sales-based fee increases, through 2034, according to the filing.

Editas will have to pay a mid-double-digit percentage of amounts received from Vertex under the deal to The Broad Institute and the President and Fellows of Harvard College as it relates to Cas9 technology licensed from them.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 13, 2023 12:33 ET (17:33 GMT)

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