Scribe Therapeutics has revealed a strategic collaboration with Sanofi for the use of Scribe’s CRISPR genome editing technologies to enable genetic modification of novel natural killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer.
The agreement grants Sanofi non-exclusive rights to Scribe’s proprietary CRISPR platform of wholly owned enzymes to create ex vivo NK cell therapies. Scribe’s suite of custom engineering genome editing, and delivery tools called CasX-Editors (XE), based on novel foundations such as the CasX enzyme, will support Sanofi’s expanding pipeline of NK cell therapeutics for oncology.
“We’re pleased to provide Sanofi with access to Scribe’s proprietary and enhanced gene editing technologies for use in ex vivo oncology applications distinct from our current pipeline,” said Benjamin Oakes, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Scribe. “Scribe is proud to expand the use of our XE CRISPR technologies with the team at Sanofi, whose commitment to deep scientific rigor and clinical development experience will enable the rapid advancement of novel ex vivo cell therapies for patients in need.”
“At Sanofi, we are pushing the boundaries of science by developing a diverse range of next-generation therapies based on natural killer (NK) cells, which could have broad applications across solid tumors and blood cancers,” said Frank Nestle, global head of Research and chief scientific officer, Sanofi. “This collaboration with Scribe complements our robust research efforts across the NK cell therapy spectrum and offers our scientists unique access to engineered CRISPR-based technologies as they strive to deliver off-the-shelf NK cell therapies and novel combination approaches that improve upon the first generation of cell therapies.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Scribe will receive $25 million in upfront payment and be eligible to potentially receive more than $1 billion in payments based on development and commercial milestones, as well as tiered royalties on net future sales on any products that may result from this research agreement.
