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Highlights
- Editas has announced a financial transaction involving the sale of future license fees owed under its Cas9 license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
- Under the terms of the agreement, Editas Medicine is set to receive an upfront payment in exchange for up to 100% of specific future annual license fees.
Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq:EDIT), a clinical-stage gene editing company, has announced a significant financial transaction involving the sale of future license fees owed under its Cas9 license agreement with Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The agreement, which was finalized with a wholly-owned subsidiary of DRI Healthcare Trust, secures an upfront cash payment of $57 million for Editas. This influx of non-dilutive capital is aimed at furthering the development of Editas’s pipeline and supporting its strategic priorities.
Gilmore O’Neill, M.B., M.M.Sc., President and CEO of Editas Medicine, expressed optimism about the partnership with DRI, stating that the arrangement will allow the company to monetize a portion of the licensing payments associated with the Vertex Cas9 license. “We are pleased to partner with DRI to monetize a portion of the licensing payments,” he said. This partnership is expected to provide Editas with immediate financial resources to enhance its development efforts.
Under the terms of the agreement, Editas Medicine is set to receive an upfront payment in exchange for up to 100% of specific future annual license fees. These fees can range from $5 million to $40 million annually and include sales-based fees that may become due. Furthermore, Editas will receive a mid-double-digit percentage of its share of a $50 million contingent upfront payment associated with the Vertex license agreement. Notably, Editas retains rights to fixed annual license fees for 2024, as well as a mid-single-digit million-dollar payment contingent on Vertex achieving certain annual sales milestones.
This transaction follows the announcement in December 2023, when Editas and Vertex entered into a licensing agreement granting Vertex a non-exclusive license for Editas’s Cas9 gene editing technology. This technology is aimed at ex vivo gene editing therapies targeting the BCL11A gene, particularly for conditions such as sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia. One of the notable therapies under this agreement is CASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel).
Editas Medicine operates as an exclusive licensee of various CRISPR patent estates essential for developing human medicines. These estates include those owned and co-owned by prestigious institutions such as Harvard University, the Broad Institute, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and The Rockefeller University. This intellectual property positioning bolsters Editas’s potential to develop transformative genomic therapies.
In executing this transaction, Editas Medicine engaged TD Cowen as its exclusive financial advisor and enlisted WilmerHale as its legal advisor. DRI Healthcare Trust was represented by legal advisors from Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Editas Medicine's focus remains on translating the capabilities of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cas12a genome editing systems into effective treatments for serious diseases. The company aims to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize precision genomic medicines that can provide lasting solutions for a wide range of health conditions.
