Intellia enters Editas’ turf with ocular CRISPR pact
Intellia is stepping (lightly) on Editas Medicine’s toes.
The two Cambridge biotechs have similar origins, tracing back to the scramble to start companies after the first big CRISPR studies at MIT and Berkeley nearly a decade ago. But while Intellia focused on developing lipid nanoparticles that could edit the liver, Editas invested in therapies for the eye.
On Wednesday, though, Intellia got in on the eye game too, albeit indirectly. The company struck a deal with SparingVision, a new startup out of France’s Institut de la Vision, to license out its CRISPR technology for use in therapies against three targets in the eye. In exchange, Intellia will receive a 10% stake in SparingVision, rights to about $200 million in milestones per product, and potential royalties.
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