Life Edit’s genome editing capabilities will be combined with ElevateBio’s cell and gene enabling technologies to expand the number of therapeutic uses.
The deal, of which financial details have not been disclosed, sees cell and gene therapy (CGT) tech firm ElevateBio acquire all of AgBiome’s shares of Life Edit Therapeutics (Life Edit).
According to ElevateBio, the acquisition will allow the firm to integrate Life Edit’s genome editing abilities with its induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), viral vector, and cellular engineering platforms. In turn, “accelerat[ing] the development of in vivo gene editing therapeutics,” David Hallal CEO at ElevateBio told us.
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The overall aim of the acquisition is to increase the number of therapeutic uses by merging Life Edit’s gene engineering capabilities with ElevateBio’s iPSC technology, which could potentially produce universal or hypoimmune cells that are hidden by the immune system.
Additionally, the firm says it will provide Life Edit with access to ElevateBio’s drug development and production capabilities, which will be focused on in vivo gene therapies to address neurological conditions.
ElevateBio claims Life Edit has various gene editing technologies that can potentially remove, add, or alter any genomic sequence of interest. Furthermore, the company says Life Edit has one of the world’s largest and diverse novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors, which were derived from AgBiome’s non-pathogenic microbe collection.
“Agbiome has one of the world’s largest proprietary microbe collection and through these non-pathogenic microbes, Life Edit has been able to identify a diverse array of novel gene editing tools, including RNA-guided nucleases and base editors that provide flexible editing modalities and broad access across the genome. This powerful suite of gene editing tools has the potential to target any genomic sequence for editing,” said Hallal.
Life Edit will continue to operate its existing space in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina.