ElevateBio Supercharges Gene Editing and Therapeutic Product Development Capabilities Through Acquisition of Life Edit Therapeutics
- Life Edit's genome editing capabilities to be fully integrated with ElevateBio's other cell and gene enabling technologies, including induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), viral vector, and cellular engineering
- Brings a broad array of editing modalities, including deletion, insertion, base editing, and CRISPRa/CRISPRi
Cambridge, Mass., October 27, 2021 – ElevateBio, LLC (ElevateBio), a cell and gene therapy technology company focused on powering transformative cell and gene therapies, today announced that it has acquired all of AgBiome Delta, LLC’s (AgBiome) shares of Life Edit Therapeutics, Inc. (Life Edit). Life Edit offers a powerful suite of gene editing technologies that have the potential for any genomic sequence of interest to be removed, added, or altered. Life Edit holds one of the world's largest and most diverse arrays of novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors that offer greater specificity and broad genome access. These nucleases were derived from AgBiome's proprietary non-pathogenic microbe collection, which could potentially reduce immunogenicity risks.
"ElevateBio’s powerful suite of enabling technologies, which now includes Life Edit’s genome editing capabilities as well as our existing iPSC, viral vector, and cell engineering platforms, is designed to disrupt the rapidly advancing fields of cell and gene therapy," said David Hallal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ElevateBio. "Our vision is to build a world-class center of excellence in genome engineering to push the boundaries of therapeutic development and drive innovation for our own therapeutic pipeline as well as provide access to these critical technologies to our growing number of industry partners.”
"Genome editing is a central component of all cell and gene therapy development, and access to novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors that offer specificity and broad genome coverage will be critical. We believe Life Edit's technology is one of the most versatile in the field, opening up enormous potential," Mitchell Finer, Chief Executive Officer of Life Edit and President, R&D of ElevateBio. "This integration will also enable Life Edit to have greater access to ElevateBio’s drug development and manufacturing capabilities as we build and advance the pipeline, which will initially focus on developing in vivo gene therapies to address neurologic conditions with high unmet need. In addition, by combining Life Edit's gene engineering capabilities with ElevateBio’s iPSC technology, our goal is to expand the number of therapeutic uses, including potentially making universal or hypoimmune cells that go undetected by the immune system."
Life Edit was spun out of AgBiome in October 2020 and AgBiome continues to retain rights for gene editing outside of human therapeutics.
About Life Edit Therapeutics:
Life Edit has one of the world's largest and most diverse arrays of novel RNA-guided nucleases and base editors active in mammalian cells. They were developed from a proprietary collection of non-pathogenic organisms and offer gene editing tools with higher fidelity, novel functionality, reduced immune response risk, and easier delivery. Life Edit has a large and diverse library of RNA-guided nucleases, including Type II and Type V systems that encompass knock-out and knock-in capabilities, transcriptional regulation, and base editing when coupled with one of our proprietary deaminases. The company's nuclease collection has a broad range of Protospacer Adjacent Motifs (PAMs). These short sequences must accompany the DNA sequence for the enzyme to edit a gene, which offers unprecedented access to genomes. Life Edit has identified several classes of DNA modifying enzymes, including novel deaminases that can edit cytidine (C) or adenine (A). Many of the company's RGNs are smaller than widely used CRISPR-Cas systems, offering ease and flexibility for in vivo delivery and manufacturing.
Life Edit is headquartered in Morrisville, NC. Visit us at www.lifeeditinc.com, or follow Life Edit on LinkedIn and Twitter.
About ElevateBio:
ElevateBio is a cell and gene therapy technology company built to power the development and manufacturing of transformative cell and gene therapies today and for many decades to come. The company has assembled industry-leading talent, built world-class facilities, and integrated diverse technology platforms necessary for rapid innovation and commercialization of cell, gene, and regenerative therapies. The company has built an initial technology stack, including gene editing, induced pluripotent stem cells, and protein, viral, and cellular engineering, that can be leveraged across the entire portfolio and by strategic partners. At the center of the business model is ElevateBio BaseCamp, a centralized research and development (R&D) and manufacturing company that offers R&D, process development (PD), and Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) manufacturing capabilities. The company is focused on increasing long-term collaborations with industry partners while also developing its own highly innovative cell and gene therapies. ElevateBio's team of scientists, drug developers, and company builders are redefining what it means to be a technology company in the world of drug development, blurring the line between technology and healthcare.
ElevateBio is located in Waltham, MA. Visit us at www.elevate.bio, or follow ElevateBio on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Instagram.
Investor Contact:
Catherine Hu
646-535-8276
Media Contact:
Courtney Heath
ScientPR
617-872-2462
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