Switzerland-based Novartis will pay AVROBIO $87.5m in cash at closing as compensation for the sale and transfer of several assets connected to the cystinosis programme
Novartis headquarters in Basel, Switzerland. (Credit: Silesia711 from Wikimedia Commons)
Gene therapy company AVROBIO has signed an agreement to sell its investigational hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy programme for the treatment of cystinosis to pharmaceutical company Novartis for $87.5m in cash.
The ownership of AVROBIO’s first-in-class HSC gene treatments for Pompe disease, Hunter syndrome, and Gaucher disease types 1 and 3 remains with the company.
The company’s financial runway is anticipated to be extended by the proceeds of this deal into the fourth quarter of 2024.
According to the provisions of an asset acquisition contract, Switzerland-based Novartis will pay AVROBIO $87.5m in cash at closing as compensation for the sale and transfer of several assets connected to the cystinosis programme.
Additionally, the gene therapy company has granted Novartis an exclusive licence to utilise certain additional resources, expertise, and other intellectual property connected to its gene therapy platform for the treatment of cystinosis.
Furthermore, US-based AVROBIO has agreed to offer specific transition, knowledge transfer, and other related services under a separate agreement to support the transition of the programme.
AVROBIO interim CEO and current CFO Erik Ostrowski said: “This transaction strengthens AVROBIO’s balance sheet, focuses our pipeline strategy and is a strong endorsement of our HSC gene therapy approach and plato gene therapy platform.”
The HSC gene therapy expresses the therapeutic protein throughout the body, including the central nervous system.
In addition, the gene therapy company has clinical programmes for Gaucher disease and Hunter syndrome, as well as a preclinical program for Pompe disease.
AVROBIO is also planning to globally commercialise its proprietary plato gene therapy platform.
In March this year, Novartis signed a strategic collaboration with UK-based Bicycle Therapeutics to develop, manufacture and market bicyclic peptide (Bicycle) radio-conjugates (BRCs) for multiple oncology targets.