Silence Therapeutics, AstraZeneca deal

Silence said that it completed its research responsibilities under two deals with AstraZeneca. In 2007, the companies partnered to discover and develop siRNA molecules against five undisclosed AstraZeneca targets using Silence's AtuRNAi siRNA technology. AstraZeneca gained worldwide rights to develop and commercialize three siRNA molecules that it accepted to advance into preclinical testing. Silence retains rights to the two unaccepted molecules, while AstraZeneca has a two-year option for the first right of refusal to the programs. The deal focused on respiratory and oncology indications (see BioCentury, July 9, 2007) ...