Date: 2014-06-30
Type of information: Company acquisition
Acquired company: bluebird bio (USA)
Acquiring company: Precision Genome Engineering - Pregenen (USA - WA)
Amount: up to $ 140 million
Terms: * On June 30, 2014, bluebird bio, a clinical-stage company committed to developing potentially transformative gene therapies for severe genetic and orphan diseases, announced the acquisition of Precision Genome Engineering, or Pregenen, a privately held biotechnology company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Under the terms of the agreement, bluebird bio issued the former stakeholders of Pregenen 408,667 shares of bluebird common stock at closing, and paid or assumed approximately $4.9 million of current liabilities of Pregenen and its stakeholders. The former stakeholders of Pregenen are also eligible to receive up to an additional $15.0 million in cash upon the achievement of certain preclinical milestones as well as $20.1 million in cash upon achievement of certain clinical milestones and $99.9 million in cash upon the achievement of certain commercial milestones with respect to product candidates identified using Pregenen’s technology.
Details: Pregenen is a leader in the development of gene editing and cell signaling technologies with a broad range of potential therapeutic applications. The company is specialized in the development and reprogramming of novel Homing Endonuclease and MegaTAL based enzymes that provide a highly specific and efficient way to silence, edit, or insert genetic components. Homing Endonucleases (HE) are specific naturally occurring DNA cleaving enzymes, employing an integrated DNA binding and cleavage mechanism to target DNA sequences greater than 20 base pairs in length. HEs are compact, non-repetitive, and use highly efficient cleavage chemistry, thus enabling “multiplex” gene editing: multiple genomic sequences can be targeted for modification using a single gene delivery vector. This offers the potential for improved efficacy by unlocking multiple mechanisms of action within gene and cell based therapies. HE’s unique biology promotes the editing or replacement of defective genes by leveraging the body’s natural cellular DNA repair mechanisms. MegaTALs are a single-chain fusion enzyme that combines the natural DNA cleaving processes of Homing Endonucleases (HEs) with the DNA binding region of transcription activator-like (TAL) effectors. TALs are easily engineered proteins that recognize specific DNA sequences. This protein fusion architecture allows the generation of extremely active and highly specific and compact nucleases that are compatible with all current viral and non-viral cell delivery methods. Pregenen\'s technologies provide an opportunity to complement bluebird’s established HSC and CAR-T cell product platforms to develop the next generation of gene therapy product candidates.
Related: gene therapy immunotherapy gene editing
