Vertex and Obsidian Collaborate to Develop Therapies Regulating Gene-Editing

Vertex Pharmaceuticals has forged a partnership with Obsidian Therapeutics to develop new gene therapies based on the control of protein expression by cells.

Obsidian, a Cambridge, UK, company, will receive $75 million upfront from Vertex, but the real money lies in the up to $1.3 billion in additional milestone-based payments it stands to receive from any products that result, as well as potential future royalties.

Vertex’s goal is to leverage Obsidian’s cytoDRIVE technology to control protein expression using small molecules, a Vertex spokesperson said.

The technology enables control of when and how much protein is expressed in any given cell. For gene-editing therapies requiring in-vivo delivery, this could enable the companies to “tune the expression of gene-editing components up to make an edit and tune expression down once an edit is made,” the spokesperson explained.