Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO; CPH: NOVO-B), a leading Danish biopharmaceutical company, is transitioning from a partnership to an acquisition deal with U.S. biotech firm 2seventy bio Inc. (NASDAQ: TSVT) for the development of a hemophilia A drug candidate. The companies have entered into an asset purchase agreement that will see Novo Nordisk acquire 2seventy’s hemophilia A program and rights to its in vivo gene-editing technology for applications outside of oncology, as well as gene editing for autologous or allogeneic cell therapies to treat autoimmune diseases.
Under the terms of the deal, 2seventy bio may potentially receive payments of up to USD 40 million. The existing collaboration agreement for the hemophilia A program will be terminated, and 2seventy will transfer its megaTAL technology and a license to the underlying intellectual property to Novo Nordisk.
Previously, Novo Nordisk had partnered with Bluebird Bio in 2019 to identify and develop a gene therapy for hemophilia A. This partnership continued with 2seventy bio when Bluebird Bio spun out its pipeline to establish 2seventy as an independent entity in 2021. In May 2023, the two firms announced that preclinical proof of concept for the hemophilia A candidate had been demonstrated.
2seventy’s MegaTAL platform utilizes 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 enables the creation of highly active, specific, and compact nucleases compatible with current viral and non-viral cell delivery methods for gene therapy development.
For 2seventy, the deal comes as the company continues to sell off its assets following financial difficulties announced in September 2023. In January of this year, the U.S. biotech spun out various preclinical and clinical cell therapy programs focused on cancers to Regeneron for an upfront fee of just USD 5 million, after expanding an existing licensing deal for cell therapies in the China market with China-based JW Therapeutics.- Flcube.com
