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Horizon Discovery Group plc
16 January 2017
Horizon broadens industry-leading gene editing capabilities
through extension of key CRISPR license and grant-funded
research
-- Access to CRISPR for the generation of GMP biomanufacturing
cell lines through extension of existing ERS Genomics license
-- GBP523,000 provided to Horizon through Innovate UK grant for
the development of an automated gene editing platform
Cambridge, UK, 16 January 2017: Horizon Discovery Group plc
(LSE: HZD) ("Horizon" or the "Company"), the world leader in the
application of gene editing technologies, today announces that it
has broadened its gene editing capabilities through the amendment
of a pre-existing license with ERS Genomics to include the full
commercial rights for the use of CRISPR edited cell lines for the
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) manufacturing of
biotherapeutics. The Company has also entered into a grant-funded
collaboration with Solentim, the developer of the Cell Metric(TM)
and dedicated instrumentation for cell line development, to
establish automated approaches for the gene editing of cell
lines.
With this license amendment, Horizon now adds the right to use
CRISPR edited cell lines in GMP biomanufacturing. This extends
Horizon's coverage for CRISPR to include virtually all
non-therapeutic applications, strengthening its core capabilities
and keeping the Company at the forefront of gene editing. Further,
through the recently signed global agreement between key CRISPR IP
holders (CRISPR Therapeutics, Intellia Therapeutics, Caribou
Biosciences and ERS Genomics), this license now includes consents
from all the patent co-owners and thereby provides Horizon with
worldwide freedom to operate with respect to this foundational
intellectual property. Financial terms of the amendment were not
disclosed.
Horizon's Bioproduction business has proven to be a strong
source of growth since launch in December 2014, and now represents
a large opportunity for the Company with access to a market
estimated to be worth GBP3.0 billion in 2015(1) . By offering
cutting-edge biomanufacturing cell lines that are constantly
improving through a process of continuous innovation to
organisations of all sizes, through a disruptive open access
business model based on one-time upfront payments from customers
independent of the future success of the biotherapeutic, Horizon is
well positioned to realise significant market success. To date,
Horizon has engaged with customers in 29 cell line evaluations,
leading to a total of 10 licenses taken contributing over GBP1.75
million in revenues. A further 16 cell line evaluations are
currently underway, several of which are expected to conclude
within Q1 2017.
Horizon has also entered into a two-year collaboration with
Solentim Ltd for the development of an automated manufacturing
platform for the genome editing of mammalian cells. The project is
being funded by Innovate UK, the UK's-innovation-agency, under the
Collaborative Research in Manufacturing and Materials scheme for a
total of GBP764,300, of which Horizon will receive GBP523,000. The
aim of this project is to establish new and innovative approaches
for the manufacture of high-value, genome-edited, cell lines at a
greater throughput and at a significantly reduced cost. This will
provide Horizon with the ability to rapidly expand its product
offering while making these cells available to the market at a
highly competitive price.
Dr. Darrin Disley, Chief Executive Officer, Horizon Discovery,
commented: "Gene editing underpins Horizon's operations, enabling
us to be the go-to industry 'Cell Builders'. Through the extension
of our CRISPR license with ERS Genomics, we now have a deeper
toolbox of gene editing options, which includes our exclusive rAAV
technology, to apply to the generation of GMP biomanufacturing cell
lines. Bioproduction was only a small part of Horizon's portfolio
at the time of our IPO, however the business has since outperformed
expectations, becoming a significant source of growth and is an
important part of our business plan going forward.
"The efficient application of gene editing technologies is as
important to our success as is access to them. Our grant-funded
collaboration with Solentim has the potential to have a major
impact on the rate and cost of cell line development for Horizon,
further strengthening our competitive market position, and
accelerating the move from customer-performed cell line development
to a fully outsourced model, similar to what has occurred in the
research antibody market."
Mr. Eric Rhodes, Chief Executive Officer, ERS Genomics, said:
"The rapid adoption of gene editing, led by CRISPR, is transforming
all areas of life sciences. We are pleased to be able to expand
Horizon's license for the use of CRISPR to include GMP
biomanufacturing applications, as they are exceptionally well
positioned to support the needs of biotherapeutic manufacturers
around the world."
S
About Horizon's Biomanufacturing platform:
Biological therapeutics made up seven of the top ten best
selling drugs of 2015(2) , and they feature extensively in
developmental pipelines. However, access to bioproduction cell
lines for their manufacture can be cost prohibitive and is often
restricted in ways that prevent their further optimisation by
customers. This stifles innovation and means that drugs are not
always getting to market due to the inability to generate
bioproduction cell lines that meet the needs of commercial
release.
Horizon is using its more than 10 years' experience in the
successful delivery of cell line engineering projects to improve
biological therapeutics manufacturing. As well as developing a tool
box of cell lines for the manufacture of a range of current and
next generation biological therapeutics, Horizon aims to encourage
innovation in other organisations by allowing access to its state
of the art bioproduction cell line platform (CHO SOURCE) under
flexible licensing terms that include allowing the further
modification of cells.
In most cases, cell line licenses are preceded by an evaluation
period by the customer, each of which provides GBP10k to GBP30k in
revenue and runs for 6-12 months. Upon completion, if a commercial
license is taken, each project is valued at between GBP150,000 and
GBP350,000 dependent on terms.
About Horizon's gene editing IP portfolio:
Horizon holds a number of CRISPR-related licenses, including a
worldwide commercial license to the UC Berkeley and Broad Institute
family of CRISPR patents signed in 2014, and a license to patents
filed by Harvard University based on discoveries made by Dr. George
Church and colleagues taken in June 2013.
The Company continues to protect its intellectual property
through innovation, with key patents pending including those
relating to the use of CRISPR gene editing to engineer fully
haploid human cells, and a further patent pending relating to a
high-throughput approach for using CRISPR to modify virtually any
genetically-defined cell line. In addition to the CRISPR technology
licenses, Horizon has an exclusive worldwide license to use rAAV
gene editing technology from the University of Washington, making
Horizon the only company authorised to utilise this technology
commercially. Horizon also has a worldwide exclusive license from
Sigma-Aldrich for the use of ZFN technology in the engineering of
in vivo disease models in mice, rats and rabbits.
1. W. Downey, "Biopharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Capacity
Expansions", Contract Pharma, June 2, 2015
2.
http://www.pharmacompass.com/radio-compass-blog/top-drugs-by-sales-revenue-in-2015-who-sold-the-biggest-blockbuster-drugs
Glossary:
-- Biomanufacturing: A type of manufacturing that utilises
biological systems to produce commercially important biomaterials
and biomolecules for use in medicines
-- Biotherapeutic: A therapeutic material produced using
biological means, for example an antibody
-- CRISPR/Cas9: A gene editing technology that enables genomic
modifications in a wide variety of organisms and tissues with high
efficiency
-- rAAV: A gene editing technology, exclusive to Horizon for
non-therapeutic applications, which allows cells to be edited with
extreme precision and virtually no risk of unforeseen errors
For further information from Horizon Discovery Group plc, please
contact:
Horizon Discovery Group plc
Darrin Disley, Chief Executive Officer
Richard Vellacott, Chief Financial Officer
Chris Claxton, VP Investor Relations
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 655 580
Numis Securities Limited (Joint Broker and NOMAD)
Michael Meade / Freddie Barnfield
Tel: +44 (0) 207 260 1000
RBC Capital Markets (Joint Broker)
Paul Tomasic / Marcus Jackson
Consilium Strategic Communications (Financial Media and Investor
Relations)
Mary-Jane Elliott / Susan Stuart / Matthew Neal / Melissa
Gardiner
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5701
Email: horizon@consilium-comms.com
Zyme Communications (Trade and Regional Media)
Katie Odgaard
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 4000
About Horizon Discovery Group plc www.horizondiscovery.com
Horizon Discovery Group plc (LSE: HZD) ("Horizon"), is a
world-leading gene editing company that designs and engineers
genetically-modified cells and then applies them in research and
clinical applications that advance human health.
Horizon's core capabilities are built around its proprietary
translational genomics platform, a highly precise and flexible
suite of gene editing tools (rAAV, ZFN and CRISPR) able to alter
almost any gene sequence in human or mammalian cell-lines.
Horizon offers over 23,000 catalogue products and related
research services, almost all of which are based on the generation
and application of cell and animal models that accurately
recapitulate the disease-causing genetic anomalies found in
diseases like cancer. Horizon's commercial offering has been
adopted by c. 1,600 unique research organisations in over 50
countries as well as in the Company's own R&D pipeline to
support a greater understanding of the genetic drivers of disease
and the development of molecular, cell and gene therapies that can
be prescribed on a personalised basis.
Horizon is headquartered in Cambridge, UK, and is listed on the
London Stock Exchange's AIM market under the ticker "HZD".
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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