Scribe to collaborate with Sanofi to generate novel NK cell therapies

Scribe Therapeutics Inc. and Sanofi have entered into a strategic collaboration to develop novel Natural Killer (NK) cell therapies for cancer using Scribe’s CRISPR genome editing technologies.

NK cells are the first line of immune defense to recognize and eliminate tumor cells through cytotoxicity. However, NK cells can become functionally exhausted in the tumor microenvironment without constant activation. NK cell therapy is an emerging class of immunotherapy where these cells are modified to overcome immune suppression and enhance their activation. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology offers flexible and efficient methods to reprogram NK cells to express:

• Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) for tumor recognition.
• Cytokines for stimulation and proliferation.
• Tumor-derived ligands for activation of pathways.
• Tumor-specific chemokine receptors for enhanced infiltration.

Overall, NK cell therapy could stand as an effective alternative to CAR-T cell therapy with major advantages owing to its potentially less severe side effects and lower treatment costs.

Scribe’s CRISPR-CasX platform uses an advanced mechanism for programmable DNA cleavage using a novel enzyme, CasX. It is a CRISPR-associated endonuclease that generates a double-stranded break in DNA at sequences targeted by its guide RNA. CasX offers advantages over Cas 9/Cas 12 due to its small size (less than 1000 amino acids) and derivation from non-pathogenic microorganisms. Currently, novel therapies for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis are in development using this technology (with Biogen).

Under this latest collaboration agreement, Sanofi will have non-exclusive rights to the platform to create novel ex vivo NK cell therapies targeting solid tumors and blood cancers.

“This collaboration with Scribe complements our robust research efforts across the NK cell therapy spectrum and offers our scientists unique access to engineered CRISPR-based technologies as they strive to deliver off-the-shelf NK cell therapies and novel combination approaches that improve upon the first generation of cell therapies,” Frank Nestle, Global Head of Research and Chief Scientific Officer at Sanofi, said in a statement.

Sanofi will pay $25 million upfront, potentially more than $1 billion in the future, based on development and commercial milestones and royalties on sales of the developed products.