Watertown, Mass.-based Selecta Biosciences Inc. is licensing its immune tolerance platform, called ImmTOR, for the treatment of Pompe disease to Asklepios BioPharmaceutical Inc. in exchange for over $240 million in up-front and milestone payments.

Pompe disease is a rare, inherited disorder that affects ventilator, cardiac and skeletal muscles, causing motor neuron dysfunction. The disease affects between 5,000 and 10,000 people worldwide.

Asklepios will have the worldwide license to develop and commercialize ImmTOR for use in adeno-associated virus gene therapy for the treatment of the disease.

The companies previously announced their collaboration in August for jointly developing, manufacturing and commercializing therapeutics for AAV gene therapies for diseases with limited treatment options.

Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based Asklepios is a privately held gene therapy platform company that develops treatments for genetic disorders.