Sangamo Therapeutics Files Chapter 11 in Delaware Bankruptcy Court (June 23) with Eli Lilly $50M Stalking-Horse Bid for Capsid, Zinc Finger, MINT, and Prion Disease ST-506 Programs; Astellas Takes Fabry Disease Asset Isaralgagene Civaparvovec; 51 Employees (40% of Staff) Laid Off the Same Day
Gene-editing pioneer Sangamo Therapeutics filed a voluntary Chapter 11 petition in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Monday June 23, 2026, after disclosing only $27.6 million in cash as of March 31 and a May 2026 Nasdaq delisting for minimum-bid-price non-compliance. Two simultaneous asset purchase agreements established the floor. Eli Lilly is the stalking-horse bidder at $50 million cash plus assumption of certain liabilities for Sangamo's capsid delivery platform, zinc finger platform, modular integrase (MINT) platform, and prion disease program ST-506. Astellas Pharma takes the Fabry disease asset isaralgagene civaparvovec (ST-920) under a separate agreement. The Lilly bid covers the assets most relevant to the peptide-adjacent neurology pipeline, with prion protein biology offering platform optionality for Lilly's broader neurodegeneration program. Both agreements remain subject to higher-or-better offers under standard Section 363 sale procedures. Sangamo simultaneously cut 51 employees, approximately 40% of its remaining workforce, with the remainder retained through the auction and sale process. The bankruptcy closes a 30-year arc that began as the zinc-finger nuclease pioneer through gene editing's commercial first wave, and underscores that gene-editing platform capital is now consolidating into large-pharma hands.