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Sanofi will license a new CRISPR enzyme from the startup Scribe Therapeutics in a bid to be the first to develop a safer, simpler, and more scalable cure for sickle cell disease.

The French drugmaker will pay Scribe $40 million upfront and promise another $1.2 billion in potential milestones to license a DNA-cutting enzyme called CasX for use in a potential single-infusion treatment for the serious blood disorder — what’s known as in vivo therapy.CasX was discovered in CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna’s lab, which subsequently spun out Scribe. 

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Scribe was planning to announce the news Tuesday, but it was published early Monday by GEN.  

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