Duke University. The company developed a gene-editing technology that can modify genes in the cells of mammals or plant cells. This Directed Nuclease Editor technology (DNE) makes precise modifications of a gene without making changes that affect other parts of the genome.
For much of the last five years, Cellectis fought Precision Bio over its DNE patents. Most of that litigation is now settled. But even during the court battles, Precision Bio worked on the gene-editing technology that became Arcus. Kane says that the company is raising money now because the technology is showing promise not just for research, but also for high-value products that are not yet addressed by drug and agbio companies.
“A nine-year path to a Series A—a little different path than others, but it made sense for us,” he says.
Arcus incorporates some of the technology used for its DNE platform, but Kane says it is a separate technology that has additional intellectual property built around it. Compared to DNE, as well as CRISPR and TALEN, Arcus is more precise in the way it can hit a gene target, he explains. The current scientific literature, he says, suggests that while CRISPR and TALEN can target the genes researchers intend to hit, those technologies can also affect other genes. That outcome would be undesirable in applications where specificity is important, such as therapies for genetic diseases.
Precision Bio’s business model so far has been to team up with other companies to develop the therapeutic or agricultural products of its partner. Disclosed partners include Medford, MA-based agbio startup Agrivida, which is using Precision Bio’s DNE technology to improve dairy and beef nutrition. In April, Precision Bio disclosed that Syngenta (NYSE: [[ticker:SYT]]) used the Arcus technology to insert “genes of interest” into particular locations of the corn genome. But the companies did not say what kinds of agricultural traits or characteristics they were pursuing with Precision Bio’s gene-editing technology.
Besides uses in therapeutics and agriculture, the company says the technology could have applications in energy, as well as industrial materials. For now, Kane is staying tight-lipped on product opportunities the company is pursuing with Arcus. But he says the funding allows the company to move beyond quietly developing the technology platform, and now pursue development of a product.
