(Reuters) – French biotech company Selectis (ALCLS.PA) on Thursday sold 19 shares of Primera Therapeutics, a gene-editing startup launched by private company Mayflower BioVentures. announced that it will acquire %.
Selectis, which joins Primera’s board of directors, will work with Primera to develop treatments for mitochondrial diseases, a group of genetic disorders.
Under the terms of the agreement, if Primera elects to exclusively license up to five co-developed therapies from Cellectis, it will be eligible for milestone payments of up to $750 million.
Primera will also be eligible to receive significant single-digit royalty payments on sales of these therapies developed under the partnership.
Earlier this year, the nonprofit Mayo Clinic and private company Hibiscus Bioventures jointly founded Mayflower Bioventures. Mayflower Bioventures is a start-up program that helps build and grow new businesses in the gene and cell therapy industry.
Mayflower’s first startup, Primera, aims to focus on developing gene therapies to address the root causes of mitochondrial diseases. Mitochondrial diseases currently have no US Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment options.
Mitochondrial diseases are caused by genetic mutations in mitochondria, the energy-producing cellular structures. These cause neurological disorders and are her one of the most common genetic disorders affecting her in about 1 in 4,300 people in the United States, according to data from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Reported by Bhanvi Satija, Bangalore. Edited by Shailesh Kuber
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