Prime Medicine said an arbitration panel found in its favor in a dispute with Beam Therapeutics over a 2019 gene-editing agreement. The decision clears the way for Prime to continue development of its alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) gene-editing program and to start a clinical trial this quarter. Prime argued its work did not violate the contractual restrictions meant to prevent the two companies from competing using overlapping intellectual property. The ruling also represents an immediate setback for Beam, which had challenged Prime’s right to pursue the AATD asset. The dispute highlights how closely gene-editing platform IP and contractual boundaries can shape pipeline timelines, especially where multiple companies spun out from related research ecosystems.