Biogen wagers $2 billion-plus on Parkinson's candidate

7 August 2020

US biotech Denali Therapeutics (Nasdaq: DNLI) yesterday signed a binding agreement with Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) to co-develop and co-commercialize Denali’s small molecule inhibitors of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) for Parkinson’s disease.

The deal adds to a string of collaborations for Denali, including with the likes of Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and Takeda (TYO: 4502), and sent the firm’s shares rocketing as much as 48%, before closing up 36.2% at $31.66.

Biogen will also receive rights to opt into two programs and a right of first negotiation for two additional programs, in each case for neurodegenerative diseases leveraging Denali’s Transport Vehicle (TV) technology platform to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

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