Alexion, Moderna in mRNA rare disease deal
Moderna Therapeutics Inc. (Cambridge, Mass.) will use its mRNA platform to design and manufacture therapies against undisclosed targets selected by Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALXN) for rare diseases. Moderna will receive $100 million up front and is also eligible for undisclosed milestones, plus high single-digit to double-digit royalties. Alexion also made a $25 million equity investment in Moderna. Alexion has exclusive options to license rights to develop and commercialize 10 products resulting from the deal.
Moderna is developing modified mRNAs that are translated into therapeutic proteins in vivo. The platform is designed to produce protein therapeutics faster and more cheaply than can be done with recombinant technologies (see BioCentury, Jan. 28, 2013). ...