Biogen commits $1 billion to brain drug development accord

20 April 2018

US biotech major Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: IONS) have expanded their strategic collaboration through a new 10-year collaboration agreement to develop novel antisense drug candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases.

Ionis shares were up 14% at $52.26 in premarket trading following the announcement this morning.

This collaboration capitalizes on Biogen’s expertise in neuroscience research and drug development and Ionis’ leadership in RNA targeted therapies with the goal of developing a broad pipeline of investigational therapies. It builds upon a productive collaboration that produced Spinraza (nusinersen), the first and only approved treatment for patients with spinal muscular atrophy.

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