Avrobio sells cystinosis gene therapy program for $87.5 million
US gene therapy company Avrobio (Nasdaq: AVRO) saw its shares close up a massive 69% at $1.31 yesterday, after it said it is selling its investigational hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) gene therapy program for the treatment of cystinosis to Swiss pharma giant Novartis (NOVN: VX) for $87.5 million in cash.
The deal is unusual deal in that it does not require Novartis to commit to milestones or royalties to land the clinical-phase asset. The news also comes months after Novartis was reported to be planning a full takeover of the biotech.
Avrobio retains full rights to its portfolio of first-in-class HSC gene therapies for Gaucher disease type 1 and type 3, Hunter syndrome and Pompe disease. Proceeds from this transaction are expected to extend the company’s cash runway into the fourth quarter of 2024.
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