Alnylam bets on Tenaya RNAi tech, and other licensing news

This week's round-up of pharma licensing deals features alliances involving Tenaya Therapeutics, Sino Bio, Antengene, and A2A Pharma.

Alnylam taps Tenaya for heart disease targets

Alnylam is broadening its position in the area of RNA interference (RNAi) gene-silencing therapies for cardiovascular diseases via a partnership with Tenaya Therapeutics, claiming rights to use the latter's discovery platform – based on induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs), high-throughput in vitro screening, imaging analysis, and machine learning algorithms – to identify novel genetic targets.

The alliance builds on Alnylam's position in RNAi drugs for cardiovascular diseases, with its ATTR cardiomyopathy therapy Amvuttra (vutrisiran), and will see Tenaya identify and validate up to 15 gene targets that could be addressed with RNAi drugs, with Alnylam taking responsibility for all development and commercialisation of any therapeutics that emerge. The South San Francisco-based biotech is getting an upfront payment of $10 million, with another $1.13 billion in development and commercial milestone payments.

Sanofi adds JACK/ROCK drug inhibitor to its pipeline

Sanofi has agreed to pay $35 million upfront for rights to an oral JAK/ROCK inhibitor, rovadicitinib, developed by a subsidiary of China's Sino Biopharmaceutical, with almost $1.4 billion in potential development, regulatory, and sales milestones.

The agreement has been signed shortly after Sino's Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical unit secured approval in China for first-in-class rovadicitinib – under the Anxu brand name – as a frontline treatment for intermediate-2 or high-risk primary myelofibrosis (MF), post-polycythemia vera MF, or post-essential thrombocythemia MF. In China, the drug is also being developed in phase 3 testing for chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).

UCB builds TCE position with Antengene deal

Belgian biopharma company UCB has made a foray into the T-cell engager (TCE) category via an agreement with Hong Kong-based Antengene, claiming rights to ATG-201, a CD19/CD3 bispecific antibody with potential as a treatment for B-cell-related autoimmune diseases.

The deal – which includes $80 million in upfront and near-term payments and $1.1 billion at the back end – gives UCB worldwide rights to ATG-201, heading for clinical trials after Antengene filed for approval to start human testing in China and Australia. The Hong Kong company will complete the first-in-human studies and, if they are positive, will then transfer further rights to UCB.

Roquefort rebrands after licensing A2A Pharma cancer drug

UK start-up Roquefort Therapeutics has reached a deal to acquire exclusive rights to AO-252, a clinical-stage, orally administered, brain-penetrant small molecule inhibitor of TACC3, by merging with Coiled Therapeutics, a spin-out of A2A Pharma, in an equity-based deal valued at £32 million ($43 million).

AO-252 is currently in a phase I trial in the US in advanced solid tumours, and is being developed on the premise that ACC3 is over-expressed in multiple cancer cells and seems to play a role in DNA damage repair, DNA replication, immunity, and mitosis. Roquefort will be renamed Coiled Therapeutics once the deal goes through, and has also announced plans for an £8.5 million share placement in connection with a transfer of shares in the enlarged company to the AIM exchange.

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