Alexion and Dicerna partner for RNAi therapies in deal potentially worth $637 million

24 October 2018

US companies Dicerna Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: DRNA) and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALXN) today announced a research collaboration and license agreement to discover and develop novel GalXC RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases.

The agreement also provides for potential additional payments to the company of up to $600.0 million, which is comprised of the option exercise fees of up to $20.0 million, representing $10.0 million for each of the candidates selected; development milestones of up to $105.0 million for each product; and aggregate sales milestones of up to $160.0 million.

By late morning trading, shares of Alexion, which also reported financial results today, were down 4.03% at $118.04, while Dicerna dipped 1.64% to $12.02.

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