On January 13, 2019 Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, and Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc., a cellular immuno-oncology company, reported a strategic research collaboration, license, and option agreement to combine their respective genome editing and cell therapy technologies to discover, develop, and manufacture allogeneic engineered natural killer (NK) cells and non-alpha beta T cell medicines for the treatment of cancer (Press release, Editas Medicine, FEB 13, 2020, View Source [SID1234553822]).
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This collaboration brings together Editas Medicine’s leading genome editing technology and Sandhill’s BINATE product process, a novel universal donor technology to extract, isolate, and expand NK cells and non-alpha beta T cells, to develop novel medicines for the treatment of solid tumor cancers.
"We are excited to work with Sandhill, combining CRISPR-based genome editing with BINATE cells to accelerate the development of numerous, transformative medicines for people with cancer and improve patient outcomes," said Charles Albright, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Editas Medicine. "We continue to increase our commitment to oncology, and we believe our portfolio of multiple immune system cell types, including T cells, NK cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), will be effective in making the next generation of allogeneic medicines to fight many common cancers."
"The team at Editas Medicine has one of the most innovative technology platforms, and we look forward to combining our technologies to create new medicines for the treatment of cancer. Together, we are dedicated to transforming cellular immuno-oncology and developing new therapies," said Annemarie Moseley, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc.
Under the terms of the agreement, Editas Medicine obtains an exclusive license to Sandhill’s technology to research, develop and commercialize immuno-oncology engineered cell medicines for solid tumors originating within a given area of the body and an option to expand such license to two additional areas. In return, Sandhill will receive an upfront payment, development and sales-based milestone payments, and royalties on sales of resulting Editas products.
RBC Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sandhill for the transaction.