Carnegie Mellon University terminated a licensing agreement with Pittsburgh-based biotech company Neubase Therapeutics, the company said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange filing Friday.
The licensing agreement, first reached in 2018, involves the exclusive, worldwide right to PATrOL, a gene editing platform Neubase had been using to create therapies for certain diseases. NeuBase’s so-called stealth editing technologies are designed to edit genes without creating an immune reaction. PATrOL stands for a modular peptide nucleic acid antisense oligo, which is designed to treat genetic diseases including mytonic dystrophy type 1, Huntington’s disease and cancer.
The termination occurred as of Wednesday.
The SEC filing didn’t disclose the reason for the termination of the rights by CMU. Neither CMU or NeuBase immediately responded to a request for comment. The media email address for NeuBase bounced back Friday afternoon.
NeuBase (Nasdaq: NBSE) said in the filing it didn’t have any outstanding amounts due on the licensing agreement and didn’t have any early termination penalties.
NeuBase announced in August it had halted further development of its gene-editing and other programs and was in the midst of a strategic alternatives process. It reported a net loss of $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2023 and a nine-month loss of $9.4 million. It does not have revenue on products yet.
Shares have been down 82% to 65 cents a share since January on the Nasdaq stock exchange. But shares were up 4% in midday trading.
