Sangamo Announces TxCell Acquisition, Patient Dosing In SB-318

Sangamo Therapeutics Inc SGMO announced Monday it would acquire TxCell for about €72 million to complement its ex vivo gene editing program.

In conjunction with the news, management reported treatment initiation for its first patient in a Phase 1/2 study of SB-318 for mucopolysaccharidosis type I.

Why It’s Important

TxCell’s expertise in regulatory T-cell (Treg) development is meant to accelerate Sangamo’s clinical evaluation of CAR-Treg therapies to support organ transplants and treat autoimmune diseases like Crohn’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

"We believe CAR-Treg therapies will prove to be as exciting for immunology as CAR-T has been for oncology,” Sangamo CEO Sandy Macrae said in a press release.

The resources will support ongoing progress in Sangamo’s existing pipeline.

"With this first patient in the Empowers Study of SB-318 for MPS I, and with five patients now treated in the CHAMPIONS Study of SB-913 for MPS II, we are making strong progress in the evaluation of our in vivo genome editing approach for these two rare inherited metabolic diseases,” Chief Medical Officer Edward Conner wrote in a press release.

What’s Next

The TxCell transaction is on track for completion in the fourth quarter.

Sangamo intends to “launch a squeeze-out procedure” upon procurement of at least 95 percent of TxCell’s share capital and voting rights. After that, the France-based TxCell will become a Sangamo subsidiary operating as Sangamo Therapeutics SA and will be delisted from the French and European exchanges.

Sangamo plans to release MPS II data late this summer and initiate clinical trials for MPS I in the U.K. later this year.

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