Multi-million Horizon Sage deal to ‘strengthen’ IP

Research organisation Horizon Discovery Group has bought Sage Labs in a deal worth almost $50 million, a move that will strengthen its IP portfolio, the company has announced.

The deal, announced today (September 29), will “create a fully integrated and world leading translational genomics platform” according to a statement from both companies.

As part of the deal, Horizon will gain exclusive access to IP related to both clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and Zinc-finger nucleases) used in genome engineering.

The $48 million figure will comprise up to $16 million in cash and up to $32 million through the issue of new shares.

Darrin Disley, chief executive at Horizon, said the acquisition “significantly strengthens” the company commercially.

He added that it would allow Horizon to “offer product, service and R&D programmes to customers engaged at every stage of translational genomics and personalised medicine research”.

David Smoller, chief executive of Sage Labs, said he was excited that Sage has become part of Horizon.

Sage will now be known as Sage Labs Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon Discovery Group.