Juno Therapeutics Inc. JUNO announced an exclusive collaboration with Editas Medicine – a leader in genome editing – focused on the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR T) and high-affinity T cell receptor (TCR) cancer immunotherapies using Editas’ genome editing technologies including CRISPR (clustered, regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/ Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9).
While Juno’s CAR T and TCR platforms engage the body’s immune system to treat cancer, Editas’ genome modification techniques treat the root cause of the disease by selectively editing defective genes.
Terms of the Deal
As per the terms of the agreement, Juno and Editas will be collaborating for three programs under which the former has agreed to pay the latter $25 million upfront and up to $22 million in research support over the next five years.
Additionally, Editas will be entitled to receive a number of payments depending on the achievement of certain future research, regulatory and commercial sales related milestones. These payments can amount to more than $230 million for each program plus tiered royalties on drugs that gain approval under the collaboration.
We are positive on the deal. Juno has lately been quite active on the deal making front. The company recently inked deals related to one of its CAR T cell candidates with AstraZeneca AZN among others and has even acquired Stage Cell Therapeutics.
We note that Juno is not the only company to collaborate on CRISPR – CAR T technology. Earlier in the year, Novartis NVS signed a collaboration and licensing agreement with Intellia Therapeutics for the discovery and development of treatments using the latter’s CRISPR genome editing technology.
Juno currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Actelion Ltd. ALIOF is also a favorably ranked stock in the health care sector carrying a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment