Allogene discloses Factor Bioscience patent suit against licensor Cellectis; it is not a party

Allogene Therapeutics disclosed in a Form 8-K filed Oct 14, 2025, that Factor Bioscience Inc. has sued its gene-editing licensor, Cellectis S.A., and Cellectis's affiliate, Cellectis, Inc., in a patent infringement case. AstraZeneca PLC and certain of its affiliates are also defendants. Allogene is not a party to the case. The company says Factor may still choose to assert direct claims against it as a commercial user of the disputed technology.

The complaint was filed on Sept 26, 2025, in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The 8-K gives no case number. The defendants are Cellectis, S.A., Cellectis, Inc. and AstraZeneca. The complaint alleges that Cellectis's TALEN-based gene-editing technology infringes three of Factor's U.S. patents relating to gene-editing techniques. The 8-K describes these as Factor's allegations.

What Factor alleges

According to the 8-K, Factor alleges that Cellectis copied Factor's patented mRNA TALEN technology, passed it off as its own, and entered into license agreements with several licensors, including Allogene, to capitalize on that infringement. For AstraZeneca, the complaint alleges direct infringement of certain Factor patents by using Cellectis's allegedly infringing TALEN technology.

No court has ruled on any of these claims. Nothing in the 8-K shows that Factor has yet served a claim on Allogene or that Allogene has been asked to take a position in the case.

Cellectis's response and Allogene's exposure

Cellectis notified Allogene of the action on Oct 6, 2025. Cellectis told Allogene that it disputes Factor's claims and intends to vigorously defend against them. The filing does not say what Cellectis has filed in response in court.

Allogene says it uses the TALEN technology it licenses from Cellectis to engineer some of its allogeneic CAR T candidates, including cema-cel and ALLO-316. An allogeneic product is made from healthy donor cells, not a patient's own cells.

The 8-K points readers to risk factors in Allogene's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, filed Aug 13, 2025. Those risks include a statement that the company is heavily reliant on its partners, Cellectis and Servier, for access to TALEN gene-editing technology. The same risk factors warn that third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay discovery and development, and that the company may not obtain or maintain rights it needs through acquisitions and in-licenses.

The company's finances

Allogene's most recent annual report on file is its 10-K for 2024. That report gives cash, cash equivalents and investments of $373.1 million at Dec 31, 2024. It shows a net loss of $257.6 million for 2024, against $327.3 million in 2023. Cash used in operating activities was $200.3 million in 2024. Since inception through Dec 31, 2024, the company says it has incurred cumulative net losses of $1,819.8 million.

The 10-K says the company expects its cash, cash equivalents and investments to fund operations for at least the next 12 months from the date of that report. It also says the company intends to raise more capital, and that if such financing is not available at adequate levels, it will need to reevaluate its operating plan and may have to delay development of its product candidates. The report notes 217,264,738 common shares outstanding as of March 7, 2025.

What the filing leaves open

The 8-K does not describe the strength of Factor's three patents, the claims each patent covers, or whether Allogene's licenses are expressly tied to the patents in suit. It also does not estimate how much a loss would cost the company. The 8-K gives no date for any ruling, motion or hearing.

The filings describe that reliance on Cellectis and Servier for TALEN access but do not describe any step Allogene has taken to protect that access.

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