Horizon Discovery agrees gene editing partnership with Rutgers

Horizon said the technology potentially has applications in the development of new cell therapies and will augment its research tools and services.

Base editing is a novel technology platform for engineering DNA or genes in cells that has the potential to correct errors or mutations in the DNA by modifying genes using an enzyme.

The agreement will see Horizon collaborate with Rutgers to further develop the novel base editing platform from the laboratory of Dr. Shengkan Jin, associate professor of pharmacology at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

As part of the agreement, Horizon has made a non-material payment to Rutgers for an option to exclusively license the base editing technology for use in all therapeutic applications. Horizon will also fund further research in base editing at Rutgers University while undertaking evaluation and proof of concept studies at Horizon.

Chief executive officer Terry Pizzie said: "Base editing is potentially transformative for all gene editing technologies with the potential to help target many diseases that to date have no treatment. As a world leader in the field of gene editing and gene modulation, both in research and applied markets, we are very excited to partner with Dr Jin and Rutgers University.

"By extending our scientific and IP capabilities, Horizon will now be able to more fully support our pharma, biotech and academic partners to deliver better cell therapy solutions to patients. As part of our five-year investment strategy, Horizon committed to investing in high value technologies that maintain our market leadership; base editing technology is a perfect example of that. We look forward to updating on the progress of the partnership and potential future next steps."

At 1330 GMT, the shares were up 0.9% to 172p.