Cambridge, Mass.-based Editas Medicine and privately-held BlueRock Therapeutics have teamed up and combined their genome editing and cell therapy technologies to discover, develop and manufacture novel engineered cell medicines.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. But, the companies said the research collaboration and cross-licensing agreement will create a platform for the discovery of “off-the-shelf engineered cell medicines with transformative potential.” Editas and BlueRock said the research collaboration will include a focus on the creation of novel, allogenic pluripotent stem cell (PSC) lines utilizing a combination of Editas Medicine’s CRISPR genome editing technology and BlueRock’s induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) platform.
The companies said the collaboration will enable the creation of engineered, differentiated, off-the-shelf cell medicines in the respective fields of oncology, including solid tumors and blood cancers, for Editas Medicine and neurology, cardiology, and immunology for BlueRock. BlueRock gains non-exclusive rights to Editas Medicine’s CRISPR technology and intellectual property and Editas Medicine gains non-exclusive rights to BlueRock’s iPSC and cell differentiation technology and intellectual property, in each of their respective fields.
Under terms of the agreement between the two companies, Editas and BlueRock are both responsible for the development, regulatory, and commercial milestones to their respective partner for any licensed engineered cell medicine developed in their respective field as well as royalties on global net product sales.
Cindy Collins, the interim chief executive officer of Editas Medicine, said that combining CRISPR-based genome editing with cell therapy has the potential to “deliver game-changing allogeneic medicines.” The collaboration with BlueRock provides the potential to “enable and accelerate” the development of therapies for people with different diseases, Collins said.
Collins took over the reins of Editas last month after CEO Katrine Bosley abruptly announced resignation from her role at the company. Collins, who most recently served as CEO of Human Longevity Inc., as well as CEO of General Electric’s Healthcare Cell Therapy Business, has been a director of Editas Medicine since December.
Emile Nuwaysir, CEO of BlueRock, noted that the two companies share a common belief in the “disruptive potential of utilizing an engineered cell as a therapeutic.”
“We are equally committed and passionate about bringing these new treatment options to those living with diseases where the unmet medical need is high and growing. We are thrilled to partner with the world-class scientific team at Editas and believe that this new collaboration will allow both companies to meaningfully expand our pipelines in a manner that further positions both as leaders in our respective fields,” Nuwaysir said in a statement.
The deal with BlueRock isn’t the only one Editas has made in recent months. In February, Editas and Gamida Cell struck a deal to evaluate the Editas’ CRISPR technology to edit NAM-NK cells, which are natural killer cells that have been expanded using Gamida Cell’s proprietary nicotinamide-based technology. Through this agreement, the companies aim to discover optimized NAM-NK cells that could be used to improve the treatment of hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
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