With the landscape of human life always in motion, it becomes pretty much a given that, as individuals, we need to have the ability of adapting. This adaptation to different circumstances, however, is challenging beyond anything. You see, even though evolution is one of the oldest truths about human life, it’s still a struggle for us to eliminate the existing habits and all what comes with it. Some are able to do it rather swiftly, but at the same time, the whole thing does have a tendency to become overwhelming for certain people, opening up such a gap between them and the others that never really gets closed. Now, this stayed as a major problem for centuries, and it was only provided with an answer when technology came to the fore. All of a sudden, we had something which wasn’t just pushing us towards a better tomorrow, but it was also helping us in getting there. The guided approach ensured that we were much more clued up about how to become better than any of the previous generations did. These unprecedented dynamics didn’t get less apparent once you isolated particular areas and examined them meticulously. Nevertheless, one sphere where they had probably the most meaningful impact was of healthcare. With high-tech tools and methodologies now at our disposal, the idea of being fit seemed less complicated. While the said milestone was achieved by a collective effort of many disciplines, the pharmaceuticals’ transition to pharmtech played an indispensable role throughout the course. What’s more is that it could very well be on the verge to make things even better.
Poseida Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has officially announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company. As per the shared details, the collaboration will primarily focus on developing non-viral in-vivo gene therapy programs. The responsibilities within the collaboration will include Poseida creating a functional environment for Takeda to use its DNA and RNA nanoparticles delivery technology and other proprietary genetic engineering platforms for research purposes. Once Poseida has done that and gone through with candidate selection, Takeda will be assuming complete responsibility for development and commercialization of these therapies.
“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. “Together with Takeda, we look forward to developing potential cures for a number of genetic diseases with high unmet need.”
The current deal between the two parties will see them work on six different therapies, which are going to be conjured up with Poseida’s platforms like piggyBac and Cas-CLOVER. However, Takeda reserves an option of adding two more therapies to the collection, in case the company is willing to bear entire R&D costs. If that option is activated, Poseida will be looking to receive $45 million upfront, along with future clinical deployment, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.
