Ascidian Therapeutics and Roche Collaborate on RNA Exon Editing for Neurological Diseases; Ascidian to Receive $42 Million Initial Payment, and Up to $1.8 Billion in Research, Clinical and Commercial Milestone Payments
The Life Sciences team advised Ascidian Therapeutics on its research collaboration and licensing agreement with Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) for the discovery and development of RNA exon editing therapeutics targeting neurological diseases. Under the agreement, Ascidian will provide Roche exclusive, target-specific rights to Ascidian's RNA exon editing technology for undisclosed neurological targets. Ascidian will conduct discovery and certain preclinical activities in collaboration with Roche, and Roche will be responsible for certain preclinical activities, and further clinical development, manufacturing, and commercialization. Ascidian will receive an initial payment of $42 million and is eligible to receive up to $1.8 billion in research, clinical, and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties on commercial sales worldwide. Based on the terms of the agreement, Ascidian is free to develop programs against other neurological targets internally or with other collaborators.
Ascidian Therapeutics, an ATP company, is redefining the treatment of disease by rewriting RNA. By editing exons at the RNA level, Ascidian therapies enable precise post-transcriptional editing of genes, resulting in full-length, functional proteins at the right levels, in the right cells, at the right time.
The Goodwin team was led by Sarah Solomon and Erini Svokos.
For additional details on the agreement, please read the press release and coverage in Endpoints, FierceBiotech and BioWorld.