YolTech Therapeutics out-licenses in vivo base-editing program for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Client(s) YolTech Therapeutics Co., Ltd.

Jones Day represented YolTech Therapeutics Co., Ltd. ("YolTech") in intellectual property strategy and out-licensing transaction of YOL-202, an investigational in vivo base-editing therapy for alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), to Serapha Bio, Inc. ("Serapha"). Under the transaction, Serapha obtained rights outside Greater China to develop and commercialize the program, now known as SERP-01, in exchange for an upfront cash payment and a minority equity interest in Serapha. YolTech retained development and commercialization rights for the Greater China territory and is also eligible to receive regulatory and commercial milestones totaling over $2 billion and tiered royalties on net sales of SERP-01. The transaction supports the advancement of a potentially best-in-class gene-editing therapy targeting the SERPINA1 E342K (PiZZ) mutation, the leading genetic cause of AATD.