Prime Medicine, founded with gene editing tech from the lab of star Harvard biochemist David Liu and backed by blue chip investors, made little secret of its ambition. It laid out plans to use its new gene editing technology across 18 different diseases, listing conditions as disparate as ALS, congenital blindness, and muscular dystrophy.
On Monday, the company vastly scaled back its aims. With cash running short, executives announced Prime will focus its efforts on just three different genetic diseases. At the same, it announced a new cell therapy pact with Bristol Myers Squibb that will immediately bring in $110 million, plus far more in potential milestones. Prime is “identifying partnership opportunities” for the shelved programs.
In an interview, CEO Keith Gottesdiener declined to say if there would be layoffs, but said, “We really don’t expect there’ll be any significant changes to the company.”
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