Editas Medicine and Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc. Announce Collaboration to Develop Engineered Cell Medicines to Treat Cancer

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and DALLAS, Jan. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editas Medicine, Inc. (Nasdaq: EDIT), a leading genome editing company, and Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc., a cellular immuno-oncology company, announced a strategic research collaboration, license, and option agreement to combine their respective genome editing and cell therapy technologies to discover, develop, and manufacture allogeneic engineered natural killer (NK) cells and non-alpha beta T cell medicines for the treatment of cancer.

This collaboration brings together Editas Medicine’s leading genome editing technology and Sandhill’s BINATE™ product process, a novel universal donor technology to extract, isolate, and expand NK cells and non-alpha beta T cells, to develop novel medicines for the treatment of solid tumor cancers.

“We are excited to work with Sandhill, combining CRISPR-based genome editing with BINATE cells to accelerate the development of numerous, transformative medicines for people with cancer and improve patient outcomes,” said Charles Albright, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Editas Medicine. “We continue to increase our commitment to oncology, and we believe our portfolio of multiple immune system cell types, including T cells, NK cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), will be effective in making the next generation of allogeneic medicines to fight many common cancers.”

“The team at Editas Medicine has one of the most innovative technology platforms, and we look forward to combining our technologies to create new medicines for the treatment of cancer. Together, we are dedicated to transforming cellular immuno-oncology and developing new therapies,” said Annemarie Moseley, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc.

Under the terms of the agreement, Editas Medicine obtains an exclusive license to Sandhill’s technology to research, develop and commercialize immuno-oncology engineered cell medicines for solid tumors originating within a given area of the body and an option to expand such license to two additional areas. In return, Sandhill will receive an upfront payment, development and sales-based milestone payments, and royalties on sales of resulting Editas products.

RBC Capital Markets acted as exclusive financial advisor to Sandhill for the transaction.

About Editas Medicine

As a leading genome editing company, Editas Medicine is focused on translating the power and potential of the CRISPR/Cas9 and CRISPR/Cpf1 (also known as Cas12a) genome editing systems into a robust pipeline of treatments for people living with serious diseases around the world. Editas Medicine aims to discover, develop, manufacture, and commercialize transformative, durable, precision genomic medicines for a broad class of diseases. For the latest information and scientific presentations, please visit . 

About Sandhill Therapeutics, Inc.

Sandhill Therapeutics is a privately held, development stage cellular immunotherapy company dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with cancer. Sandhill’s BINATE™ leverages dual innate cell synergy, resulting in a highly activated, readily available, universal off-the-shelf treatment for both solid tumors and blood cancers. Sandhill’s activated innate cell immunotherapy is generated by a cost-effective, feeder-free campaign manufacturing process. For more information, visit .

Editas Medicine Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘intend,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘plan,’’ ‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘predict,’’ ‘‘project,’’ ‘‘target,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘would,’’ and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Editas Medicine may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.  Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including: uncertainties inherent in the initiation and completion of preclinical studies and clinical trials and clinical development of Editas Medicine’s product candidates; availability and timing of results from preclinical studies and clinical trials; whether interim results from a clinical trial will be predictive of the final results of the trial or the results of future trials; expectations for regulatory approvals to conduct trials or to market products and availability of funding sufficient for Editas Medicine’s foreseeable and unforeseeable operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements.  These and other risks are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” included in Editas Medicine’s most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other filings that Editas Medicine may make with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the future.  Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent Editas Medicine’s views only as of the date hereof and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Except as required by law, Editas Medicine explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.