Lysogene Enters into an Exclusive Worldwide License Agreement with Yeda

Lysogene, a phase 3 gene therapy platform Company targeting central nervous system (CNS) diseases, announced that it has exercised its option to enter into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd, the commercial arm of the Weizmann Institute of Science, for the development and commercialization of a gene therapy candidate for the treatment of neuronopathic Gaucher disease and Parkinson disease (PD) with GBA1 mutations.

Since 2020, Lysogene has been collaborating with Prof. Anthony Futerman at the Weizmann Institute of Science with the aim of developing a novel AAV gene therapy approach for neuronopathic Gaucher disease, Parkinson disease, and other diseases associated with mutations of the GBA1 gene. Lysogene has provided expertise in AAV vector design and production, while Prof. Futerman’s lab provided glucocerebrosidase variants with enhanced biological properties. After approximately 20 months of successful collaboration, Lysogene decided to exercise its option to license the program on the basis of positive preliminary biological proof of principle studies.

Under the terms of the agreement, Lysogene will be responsible for the preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory activities, and commercialization of the drug candidate, globally. Yeda Research and Development Co Ltd will be eligible for royalties and other payments.

Ralph Laufer, CSO of Lysogene, commented: “We are thrilled to add to our R&D pipeline a new promising gene therapy asset, which addresses high unmet medical needs in Gaucher disease, as well as broader indications, such as PD-GBA. The first results obtained by Prof. Anthony Futerman’s team are promising and we look forward to expanding them in additional preclinical studies. The cost of these preclinical studies will not affect our cash runway. We continue to replenish our early-stage pipeline to position Lysogene as a key player in the field of gene therapy translational science.”

“We are excited to expand our successful research collaboration with Lysogene based on the novel research by Prof. Futerman and his colleagues,” said Elik Chapnik, Sr. Director of Business Development at Yeda. “We are confident that this new licensing deal has the potential to bring transformative therapeutic options to patients suffering from genetically-defined CNS diseases with significant unmet need, such as neuronopathic Gaucher disease.”