Precision BioSciences secures $7.5M milestone payment as MS gene therapy advances

Precision BioSciences (NASDAQ:DTIL) announced Monday that it has achieved a $7.5 million clinical milestone under its licensing agreement with TG Therapeutics (NASDAQ:TGTX).

The payment was triggered by the continued advancement of azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel), an investigational cell therapy, in an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial targeting progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS).

The total proceeds consist of a $5.25 million cash payment and a $2.25 million equity investment.

Specifically, TG Therapeutics will purchase 201,504 shares of Precision common stock at a price of $11.17 per share.

This financial infusion, combined with existing cash reserves and the company's "at-the-market" (ATM) facility, is expected to extend Precision’s operational runway through 2028.

The milestone underscores the strategic shift Precision made in early 2024 to offload its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell assets to focus on its proprietary ARCUS® in vivo gene editing platform.

Under the terms of the original January 2024 agreement, Precision remains eligible for up to $288 million in additional milestone payments, alongside royalties on future net sales.

Azer-cel is being evaluated for its ability to reset the immune response in patients with progressive MS, a condition where traditional treatments often fail to halt neurological decline.