On February 22, 2018 Kite, a Gilead Company (Nasdaq: GILD) and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO) reported the companies have entered into a worldwide collaboration using Sangamo’s zinc finger nuclease (ZFN) technology platform for the development of next-generation ex vivo cell therapies in oncology (Press release, Sangamo Therapeutics, FEB 22, 2018, View Source [SID1234524155]).
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Kite will use Sangamo’s ZFN technology to modify genes to develop next-generation cell therapies for autologous and allogeneic use in treating different cancers. Allogeneic cell therapies from healthy donor cells or from renewable stem cells would provide a potential treatment option that can be accessed directly within the oncology infusion center, thus reducing the time to infusion for patients.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sangamo will receive an upfront payment of $150 million and is eligible to receive up to $3.01 billion in potential payments, aggregated across 10 or more products utilizing Sangamo’s technology, based on the achievement of certain research, development, regulatory and successful commercialization milestones. Sangamo would also receive tiered royalties on sales of potential future products resulting from the collaboration. Kite will be responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization of products under the collaboration, and will be responsible for agreed upon expenses incurred by Sangamo.
"This collaboration between Kite and Sangamo brings together two leading platforms to develop best-in-class cell therapies in oncology," said Sandy Macrae, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sangamo. "We are excited by Kite’s commitment to driving innovation in this field and look forward to working together to realize the full promise of cell therapy in treating cancer."
"The emergence of gene editing as a tool to edit immune cells holds promise in the development of therapies with potentially improved safety, efficacy and efficiency," said John F. Milligan, PhD, Gilead’s President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe Sangamo’s zinc finger nucleases provide the optimal gene editing platform, and we look forward to working with Sangamo to accelerate our efforts to develop next-generation autologous cell therapies, as well as allogeneic treatments that can be accessed more conveniently in the hospital setting for people living with cancer."
This transaction is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and other customary closing conditions. A Current Report on Form 8-K describing the proposed transaction in more detail will be filed by Sangamo, and this press release is subject to further detail provided in Sangamo’s 8-K.
Sangamo Conference Call
Sangamo will host a conference call today, February 22, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. ET, which will be open to the public, to discuss the details of the collaboration and the Company’s fourth quarter and full year 2017 business and financial results. The call will also be webcast live and can be accessed via a link on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations. A replay of the webcast will also be available for one week after the call.
The conference call dial-in numbers are (877) 377-7553 for domestic callers and (678) 894-3968 for international callers. The conference ID number for the call is 4392918. Participants may access the live webcast via a link on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations. A conference call replay will be available for one week following the conference call. The conference call replay numbers for domestic and international callers are (855) 859-2056 and (404) 537-3406, respectively. The conference ID number for the replay is 4392918.