Novartis plots Precision attack on sickle cell, paying $75M and putting up $1.4B in biobucks to form in vivo gene editing pact

One year after Intellia’s landmark data, Novartis is making a play for the in vivo gene editing market. The move sees the Swiss pharma pay Precision BioSciences $75 million upfront in a combination of cash and equity investment along with up to $1.4 billion in milestones to secure rights to a potential treatment for sickle cell disease and beta thalassemia.