Biogen and Sangamo Announce Global Collaboration to Develop Gene Regulation Therapies for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Neuromuscular, and Other Neurological Diseases

• Broad collaboration for gene regulation therapies in neurology, initially focused on development of ST-501 for tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease, ST-502 for synucleinopathies including Parkinson’s disease, and a neuromuscular target, with exclusive rights for nine additional undisclosed neurological targets
• Biogen will pay Sangamo $350 million upfront, including a license fee and an equity investment in Sangamo stock
• Sangamo is eligible to receive up to $2.37 billion in potential milestones, as well as royalties on potential net commercial sales
• Biogen’s access to Sangamo's gene regulation therapies complements its expanding efforts in gene therapy across diverse neurological diseases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and BRISBANE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a genomic medicine company, today announced that they have executed a global licensing collaboration agreement to develop and commercialize ST-501 for tauopathies including Alzheimer’s disease, ST-502 for synucleinopathies including Parkinson’s disease, a third undisclosed neuromuscular disease target, and up to nine additional undisclosed neurological disease targets. The companies will leverage Sangamo’s proprietary zinc finger protein (ZFP) technology delivered via adeno-associated virus (AAV) to modulate the expression of key genes involved in neurological diseases.  

“As a pioneer in neuroscience, Biogen will collaborate with Sangamo on a new gene regulation therapy approach, working at the DNA level, with the potential to treat challenging neurological diseases of global significance. We aim to develop and advance these programs forward to investigational new drug applications,” said Alfred Sandrock Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Research and Development at Biogen.

“There are currently no approved disease modifying treatments for patients with many devastating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, creating an urgency for the development of medicines that will not just address symptoms like the current standards of care, but slow or stop the progression of disease,” said Sandy Macrae, CEO of Sangamo. “We believe that the promise of genomic medicine in neuroscience is to provide a one-time treatment for patients to alter their disease natural history by addressing the underlying cause at the genomic level.”