|
|
|
|
||
Beam Therapeutics inks $300 million gene-editing collaboration with PfizerBeam Therapeutics inks $300 million gene-editing collaboration with PfizerGardizy, Anissa.Boston Globe (Online); Boston Last summer, Pfizer disclosed its long-term strategy to continue using messenger RNA, the key ingredient in its blockbuster COVID-19 vaccine, to treat other diseases. The company said it wanted to explore how mRNA could be used to edit the human genome, and hinted that it would pursue an approach called “base editing.” The goal of base editing is to precisely — and permanently — change a single letter of DNA to cure a disease. It didn't take long for Cambridge biotech Beam Therapeutics, which is pioneering base editing, to get a call from the New York-based pharmaceutical giant. The companies announced on Monday that they are partnering to work on genetic medicines for three undisclosed diseases involving the liver, muscles, and central nervous system. Pfizer will pay Beam $300 million upfront in the biotech startup's largest collaboration to date. “Pfizer was looking for what's next,” said Beam chief executive John Evans. “[Messenger RNA] is transient, so you want to have a permanent impact on the body. One way to do that is with a vaccine and another way is with a gene edit.” In the COVID-19 vaccines, mRNA teaches the body to make the spike protein of the virus to trigger an immune response, and it is delivered through lipid nanoparticles. (The COVID vaccines do not alter a person's DNA.) Evans said in other applications, mRNA could be used to carry information for a so-called “base editor,” which would permanently change a letter in a person's genome to cure a disease. Lipid nanoparticles are known to reach the liver, but Beam is working on delivering genetic therapies to other organs, muscles, and the central nervous system. Base editing is thought to overcome the challenges associated with traditional gene-editing methods, since it would be more precise and efficient. “This could be a very disruptive and exciting transition in medicine…moving toward a one-time, curative therapy,” he said. Giuseppe Ciaramella, the president and chief scientific officer of Beam, said a focus on gene editing with mRNA is an “obvious” move for Pfizer, given its experience with developing and manufacturing its COVID-19 vaccine. This is an area Ciaramella knows particularly well; before Beam, he worked on vaccines at Moderna. As part of the deal, Pfizer can develop and commercialize the three candidates that Beam discovers, and Beam can choose to co-develop and market one of them. Beam is eligible for an additional $1.05 billion in regulatory, commercial, and milestone payments if all programs pan out. “It's a transformational deal… a great sign of validation,” Evans said. Evans said Beam plans to accelerate its hiring plans for 2022 because of the deal. Since last December, the company has grown from 180 employees to more than 300. Founded in 2017, Beam raised $180 million in an initial public offering in February 2020. The company's base-editing technology was developed by David Liu, a researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, who has founded several local biotech companies. The announcement came an hour ahead of the first day of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which pivoted to a virtual event because of the Omicron variant. Beam and Pfizer both have presentations at the conference scheduled for Monday afternoon. Evans said this year's format will be more “efficient” than in years past. “It's fun to be in a crowded hallway in a hotel in San Francisco sometimes, but I think this sort of event works virtually,” Evans said. |
return to message board, top of board |