Precision BioSciences Nets $7.5M Milestone, Extends Runway on MS Therapy Progress

DURHAM, NC – March 02, 2026 – Precision BioSciences, a clinical-stage gene editing company, today announced the receipt of a $7.5 million milestone payment from its partner, TG Therapeutics, marking significant progress in a clinical trial for a novel multiple sclerosis therapy. The payment was triggered by advancements in the Phase 1 study of azercabtagene zapreleucel (azer-cel), a gene-edited cell therapy being investigated for progressive forms of multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating condition with few effective treatments.

The influx of capital, a mix of cash and stock, significantly bolsters Precision’s financial standing, extending its operational cash runway through 2028. This development not only provides crucial funding for the company’s internal pipeline but also serves as a powerful validation of its strategic decision to partner its complex cell therapy programs while focusing on its core in vivo gene editing technology.

A Strategic Lifeline and Financial Validation

For Precision BioSciences, the milestone payment is more than just a financial boost; it is a critical endorsement of its business model. The $7.5 million, composed of $5.25 million in cash and a $2.25 million equity investment from TG Therapeutics, extends the company’s financial runway from a previously projected mid-2026 to a much more stable outlook through 2028. This extension provides the Durham-based firm with years of additional operating capital to advance its wholly-owned pipeline of in vivo gene editing therapies.

This milestone stems from a licensing deal inked in January 2024, where Precision granted TG Therapeutics exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize azer-cel for autoimmune diseases. The agreement structure allows Precision to retain significant upside, with the potential for up to $288 million in additional milestone payments plus tiered royalties on future net sales. This strategy of out-licensing its allogeneic CAR T assets, including a separate deal with Imugene for oncology applications, allows Precision to mitigate the immense costs and manufacturing complexities of cell therapy development.

“We are pleased with TG Therapeutics’ continued advancement of azer-cel in progressive multiple sclerosis and with the achievement of this clinical milestone,” said Michael Amoroso, President and Chief Executive Officer of Precision BioSciences, in the company’s press release. “Their clinical progress reflects the potential of azer-cel in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and underscores the value of our strategic partnering approach.”

While the news provides a significant tailwind, it arrives at a crucial time for the company, which has faced the financial headwinds common in the biotech sector, including negative operating margins and high debt. The milestone payment and the confidence signaled by TG Therapeutics' equity purchase offer a counter-narrative to these challenges, highlighting the tangible value being generated from its partnered assets.

Tackling a Formidable Foe: Azer-cel and Progressive MS

The clinical progress of azer-cel offers a new glimmer of hope for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis, a relentless form of the disease that causes steady neurological decline. Unlike relapsing-remitting MS, progressive MS—which includes both primary progressive (PPMS) and secondary progressive (SPMS) forms—has proven notoriously difficult to treat, representing a major unmet medical need.

Azer-cel is an allogeneic, or "off-the-shelf," CAR T cell therapy that targets CD19, a protein found on the surface of B-cells. The therapeutic rationale builds on the success of existing B-cell depleting therapies like Ocrelizumab, the only drug approved for PPMS, suggesting that a deep and sustained reset of the B-cell population could halt or slow disease progression.

The Phase 1 trial sponsored by TG Therapeutics (NCT06680037) began enrolling its first patients in August 2025 and aims to recruit up to 32 participants. The study's advancement to trigger this milestone suggests that early development is proceeding on track. According to TG Therapeutics, demand for spots in the trial has been high, underscoring the urgent need for new therapeutic options in this patient community. The first preliminary data from this pivotal study is eagerly anticipated in the second half of 2026.

The Power Behind the Partnership

The advancement of azer-cel is driven by a partnership that strategically pairs Precision's cutting-edge gene editing science with TG Therapeutics' deep expertise in B-cell mediated diseases. TG Therapeutics is not a newcomer to the MS space; it is the company behind BRIUMVI (ublituximab-xiiy), a successful anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody for relapsing forms of MS. This commercial experience and established presence in neurology give TG Therapeutics a significant advantage in navigating the complex development and regulatory pathways for a new MS therapy.

Acquiring the rights to azer-cel was a deliberate move by TG Therapeutics to expand its autoimmune franchise beyond BRIUMVI and into next-generation cell therapies. The company views azer-cel as a key asset with the potential to treat a range of B-cell mediated autoimmune disorders, with progressive MS as its first target. Their commitment is further evidenced by a strategic partnership with MaxCyte, secured in early 2025, to ensure scalable manufacturing of the engineered T-cells required for azer-cel production.

For TG Therapeutics, a financially robust company enjoying strong sales from its flagship product, the investment in azer-cel represents a calculated push into the future of autoimmune treatment, leveraging its existing strengths to de-risk a high-potential asset.

ARCUS Platform in the Spotlight

Underpinning the development of azer-cel is Precision BioSciences' proprietary ARCUS® gene editing platform. This milestone serves as an important external validation for the technology, which competes in a field dominated by names like CRISPR. Precision has long touted ARCUS's differentiating features, including its smaller size, simpler structure, and unique DNA-cutting mechanism that can facilitate highly efficient gene editing.

Notably, ARCUS has demonstrated a strong capacity for gene insertion in non-dividing cells, a critical capability for in vivo therapies that must edit cells directly within the body, such as in the liver or muscle. By partnering azer-cel, an ex vivo product where cells are edited outside the body, Precision has freed up its capital and resources to focus on this core in vivo mission.

The company’s internal pipeline includes promising candidates like PBGENE-HBV for chronic hepatitis B, which aims to eliminate viral DNA from infected cells, and PBGENE-DMD for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, designed to excise a large, defective portion of the dystrophin gene. The financial runway secured by the azer-cel milestone directly supports the advancement of these potentially curative therapies, with multiple data and development milestones now anticipated for 2026 and beyond. This progress highlights the additive value of the company’s partnered programs, which are now helping to fuel its most ambitious scientific goals.