Sangamo’s STAC-BBB is known for its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and transduce neurons. Credit: Komsan Loonprom/Shutterstock.

Astellas Pharma and Sangamo Therapeutics have signed a licence agreement for a neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB, aimed at treating neurological diseases.

Astellas will obtain a global exclusive licence to leverage Sangamo’s STAC-BBB for a single target.

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It has the option to expand the agreement to four additional targets upon payment of further licensed target fees.

Sangamo will complete a technology transfer for the capsid. Meanwhile, Astellas will deal with further research, preclinical and clinical development, regulatory processes, manufacturing and the worldwide commercialisation of the resulting gene therapies.

Astellas will pay an upfront licence fee of $20m to Sangamo.

Sangamo could earn up to $1.3bn in additional licensed target fees and milestone payments for up to five potential neurology disease targets.

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It is also entitled to tiered mid-to-high single-digit royalties on potential net sales, subject to certain reductions.

Sangamo Therapeutics CEO Sandy Macrae stated: “We strongly believe in the potential of STAC-BBB, our industry-leading, intravenously delivered AAV capsid, to overcome the challenges associated with delivering therapies to the central nervous system.

“This agreement underscores the continued industry interest in our STAC-BBB capsid and reinforces our ongoing commitment to partnering with collaborators who understand its unique potential.”

The STAC-BBB capsid will be used to advance intravenously administered genomic medicines for specific neurological conditions.

Astellas Pharma chief strategy officer Adam Pearson stated: “We believe that technologies such as Sangamo’s STAC-BBB capsid could prove critical in helping us deliver effective transformational treatments to patients suffering from serious genetic neurological conditions.

“We continue to build a world-class gene therapy pipeline and end-to-end discovery, development, manufacturing and commercial capabilities. This agreement is another example of our commitment to delivering meaningful therapies for patients with genetic diseases.”

In July 2023 Astellas formed a research partnership and licence agreement with PeptiDream, focusing on the discovery of new targeted protein degraders.