Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) and Precision BioSciences Inc. (Durham, N.C.) partnered to develop therapies that eliminate the HBV virus in vivo, using Precision’s genome editing platform ARCUS.
Current HBV treatments suppress HBV viral replication without clearing the virus, according to the partners.
ARCUS generates synthetic nucleases that can insert, edit or remove DNA from genomes. ARCUS nucleases that target HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) — DNA that enables HBV replication when patients stop treatment — have shown promising activity in human liver cells in preclinical studies at Gilead, the partners said.
Precision VP of Business Development Michael Dombeck told BioCentury Gilead’s previous “hands-on experience” with ARCUS was not part of a formal collaboration, and none of those data have been published.
Under the deal, Precision will be eligible to receive milestone payments of up to $445 million, plus tiered royalties up to the mid-teens. Gilead will fund all R&D, with Precision leading preclinical studies and Gilead taking on clinical development and commercialization. Dombeck declined to disclose any further financial terms or when it expects the lead partnered program to begin clinical development.
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