Intellia stock surged Tuesday after the CRISPR gene-editing company forged a cancer deal with Onk Therapeutics worth nearly $1 billion.
Under the agreement, Intellia Therapeutics licensed its CRISPR technology to Onk. Privately held Onk plans to use the technology to develop up to five cancer drugs. Intellia will be eligible to receive $184 million per product as well as potential commercial milestone payments and royalties.
The news sent Intellia stock up 9.1% to 98.52 on today's stock market.
Intellia Stock: Combining Tech In Cancer
Onk is developing natural killer cells to treat cancer. These cells belong to the immune system and can kill tumor cells. Onk plans to use Intellia's platform to develop off-the-shelf natural killer cells — known as allogeneic — rather than relying on donor cells.
Onk will have access to both Intellia's gene-editing platform and its delivery system. It will edit the cells outside the body, a process known as ex vivo editing. Then, Onk researchers will use Intellia's lipid nanoparticles, water soluble fat droplets, to deliver the drug.
"We believe combining Intellia's ex vivo genome editing and (lipid nanoparticle) delivery platforms with our suite of proprietary natural killer cell gene edits has the potential to create optimally engineered natural killer cells," Onk Chief Executive Chris Nowers said in a written statement.
The engineered cells will have greater cancer-killing abilities, persistence and ability to stay in the body longer, he said. The treatments could work for both blood cancers and solid tumors.
Intellia Can Co-Develop, Sell Two Drugs
The deal gives Intellia the option to co-develop and co-commercialize up to two products globally with the right to lead commercialization in the U.S. If Intellia opts in, it will share 50% of any future profit and loss generated by the product instead of a mid single-digit royalty on sales.
Despite the bullish pop, Intellia stock remains below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, according to MarketSmith.com.
Follow Allison Gatlin on Twitter at @IBD_AGatlin.
