Business
Passage Bio Announces Expansion of Gene Therapy Collaboration with University of Pennsylvania
Option to license an additional five programs for a total of seventeenExtended option and research term to allow for collaboration through 2025Exclusive
About this update from Passage Bio, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Option to license an additional five programs for a total of seventeenExtended option and research term to allow for collaboration through 2025Exclusive rights to certain technologies resulting from GTP’s gene therapy research PHILADELPHIA, May 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Passage Bio, Inc. (NASDAQ: PASG), a genetic medicines company focused on developing transformative therapies for rare, monogenic central nervous system (CNS) disorders and the Gene Therapy Program (GTP) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) today announced the expansion of their collaboration agreement to include an additional five programs and extending Passage Bio’s period to exercise new programs for an additional three years (through 2025). Additionally, Passage Bio will fund discovery research at GTP and will receive exclusive rights, subject to certain limitations, to technologies resulting from the discovery program for Passage Bio products developed with GTP, such as novel capsids, toxicity reduction technologies and delivery and formulation improvements.\n “Our collaboration with the GTP gives us access not only to the best discovery, technology, and research available but also to pioneering expertise in the field of gene therapy, including pre-clinical development and manufacturing experience that will help guide our programs as we move into clinical development,” said Bruce Goldsmith, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Passage Bio. “Expanding this collaboration provides us with the opportunity to not only deepen our pipeline but also strengthen our own expertise and capabilities as we strive to develop transformative gene therapies for patients. We are tremendously proud of the progress we have accomplished to date through this partnership and look forward to continuing this momentum in the years to come.” This expansion builds upon the original collaboration, which successfully established a strong partnership between Passage and GTP. Under the expanded agreement, Passage will pay $5 million annually to Penn to fund research across numerous technology applications for gene therapy. In addition to five additional program options and an extension of the relationship through 2025, Passage will receive exclusive rights, subject to certain limitations, to IP arising from this research and related indications that are applicable to the p...