Beam adds ex-hepatic delivery tech to base editing toolkit with Guide buyout

Beam will take advantage of a months-long run-up in its share price to add a key base editing delivery technology via its takeout of privately held Guide Therapeutics, providing an early exit for investors less than three years after the start-up’s launch.

For $120 million up front in stock, the deal gives Beam Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAM) a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology designed to reach specific tissues outside the liver. Beam’s existing preclinical pipeline includes base editing programs that use LNP delivery to treat liver diseases, as well as delivery mechanisms using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) and electroporation...