Novartis and Sangamo Announce Gene Therapy Collaboration for up to $795 Million

Novartis and Sangamo Therapeutics, a genomic medicine company located in Brisbane, CA, announced on July 30, 2020 that they are entering into a collaboration agreement for up to $795 million to develop and commercialize gene regulation therapies to address three neurodevelopmental targets, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Through the agreement, Sangamo will receive a $75 million upfront license fee payment and will be eligible to earn up to $720 million in other development and commercial milestone payments, including up to $420 million in development milestones and up to $300 million in commercial milestones, a Sangamo press release said.

Novartis will have exclusive rights to Sangamo’s genome regulation technology, which will target three undisclosed genes that are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including ASD and intellectual disability, according to the press release. Sangamo will handle the research and associated manufacturing activities, while Novartis will be responsible for additional research activities, investigational new drug-enabling studies, clinical development, related regulatory interactions, manufacturing, and global commercialization.

“Partnering Sangamo’s proprietary technology with Novartis’ deep experience in neuroscience drug development is a powerful combination which expands Sangamo’s pipeline and allows us to tackle challenging neurodevelopmental conditions,” said Sandy Macrae, CEO of Sangamo, in the press release. “Our goal in this collaboration is to create genomic medicines for patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism, that can potentially alter the natural history of these complex lifelong disorders.”

“This collaboration with Sangamo is part of our commitment to pioneering the next generation of neurodevelopmental treatments,” said Jay Bradner, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, in the press release. “The goal is to create new gene regulation therapies that act at the genomic level, moving us beyond the symptom focused treatments of today and toward therapies that can address some of the most challenging neurodevelopmental disorders.”

Source: Sangamo