Horizon Discovery Group plc announced that it has exercised its option to exclusively license a novel Base Editing technology from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US), for use in therapeutic, diagnostic and service applications. In January 2019, Horizon and Rutgers signed an Option Agreement and a Research Agreement, which granted Horizon an option to obtain an exclusive license to Rutgers’ proprietary Base Editing technology for therapeutic, diagnostic and service applications. Under the terms of the agreement, Horizon and Rutgers agreed to collaborate to further develop the Base Editing technology, which included the Group undertaking its own evaluation and proof-of-concept studies. Horizon has several internal programs designed to accelerate the clinical uptake of this technology and make it widely available for therapeutic applications. Horizon has now exercised its option and Rutgers has granted it an exclusive license to Rutgers’ proprietary Base Editing technology. The license includes the right for Horizon to sublicense the technology to entities seeking to use it for therapeutic development. Financial terms are confidential and have not been disclosed. Base Editing is a novel technology that enables scientists to make edits to base pairs in DNA by recruiting specific Base Editing enzymes (deaminases). Horizon is now seeking early access customers to assess and shape the development of this Base Editing platform, which could enable the development of novel therapeutics that rely on engineering cells either directly in the body (gene therapy), or externally before transplanting back into the patient (cell therapy). This novel technology could also be applied in cell therapies programs that require more effective multi-gene knockouts (such as CAR-T cells) with an improved safety profile. Customers will also gain access to Horizon’s expertise in genome engineering of different cell types, influence over the direction of future development and access to early technical data from the platform.