Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGMO) shares are trading higher Tuesday after the company announced it has entered into a license agreement with Genentech to develop intravenously administered genomic medicines for neurodegenerative diseases. 

Sangamo has granted Genentech an exclusive license to its proprietary zinc finger repressors and neurotropic adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid, STAC-BBB. Under the terms of the agreement, Genentech is expected to pay Sangamo $50 million in near-term upfront license fees and milestone payments. Sangamo is eligible to earn up to $1.9 billion in development and commercial milestones spread across multiple potential products under the agreement and tiered royalties on net sales of such products. 

"Sangamo has been pioneering the field of genomic medicine for years to address devastating neurodegenerative diseases with limited current treatment options,” said Sandy Macrae, CEO of Sangamo. “We are excited to share this powerful combination with Genentech to advance potential treatment options for devastating neurodegenerative disorders, and we are hopeful this could be the first of multiple capsid collaborations to come with other partners.” 

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