Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. and Genevant Sciences announced a research collaboration and option agreement for the delivery of LNP-gene editing therapeutics in Sarepta’s pipeline for neuromuscular diseases. LNPs offer the potential for a non-viral approach to gene editing and can provide both optimal uptake into desired cells and efficient release, resulting in functional delivery of gene editing cargo, such as CRISPR-Cas, to target tissues. Gene editing has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of diseases caused by genetic mutations - including rare neuromuscular diseases - by permanently altering genes that lead to disease. Sarepta is pursuing a variety of approaches to genetic medicine including exon skipping, gene therapies and gene editing in pursuit of cures for rare diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Genevant will design and collaborate with Sarepta in the development of muscle targeted LNPs to be applied to gene editing targets in early stage development. Sarepta will have rights to an exclusive license to Genevant’s LNP technology for up to four neuromuscular indications, including Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Genevant may receive approximately $50 million in near-term payments and is also eligible for significant future development, regulatory and commercial milestones and tiered royalties ranging from the mid-single to low-double digits on future product sales.