Poseida Therapeutics and Takeda Partner to Develop Non-Viral In-Vivo Gene Therapy Programs

Poseida Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company specializing in cell and gene therapeutics, announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company in an Oct. 12, 2021, press release. In this collaboration, Takeda will utilize Poseida's nanoparticle delivery technology and other proprietary genetic engineering platforms for the research and development of up to eight gene therapies.

This collaboration will focus on developing non-viral in-vivo gene therapy programs, including Poseida's Hemophilia A program. Poseida will lead research activities up to candidate selection, after which Takeda will assume responsibility for further development and commercialization.

The parties will collaborate to initially develop up to six in-vivo gene therapy programs under the terms of the agreement, utilizing Poseida's technology platforms—including piggyBac, Cas-CLOVER, and biodegradable nanoparticle technology as well as other technologies. In addition, Takeda can add two additional programs to the collaboration and would then provide funding for all collaboration program R&D costs. Poseida will receive an upfront payment of $45 million and preclinical milestones and is eligible to receive future clinical development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments.

"Our technologies offer highly efficient gene delivery, fully integrated non-viral genome insertion, and ultra-precise site-specific gene editing,” said Eric Ostertag, CEO of Poseida, in a company press release. “Together with Takeda, we look forward to developing potential cures for a number of genetic diseases with high unmet need."

"Poseida's differentiated platform technologies show great promise in developing non-viral in-vivo gene therapies using their novel genetic engineering and delivery technologies that complement our existing collaborations," said Madhu Natarajan, head of Takeda’s rare diseases drug discovery unit, in the press release.

Source: Poseida Therapeutics