The field of RNA interference therapy is very active, and Novo Nordisk is the latest company to agree to take action Buy Dicerna Pharmaceuticals As the first treatment they have collaborated in two years, the deal is prepared for the first clinical trial at a price of 3.3 billion US dollars.
According to the terms announced on Thursday, Novo Nordisk will pay $38.25 in cash per share for Dicerna, headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. This price is 80% premium to Dicerna’s closing price on Wednesday.
RNAi is the mechanism that prevents protein translation in cells. RNAi therapy uses this mechanism to prevent genes from producing disease-causing proteins. This method is sometimes called “gene silencing.” The drugs that form this type of therapy are made of small interfering RNA or siRNA, which works by silencing the part of the RNA that causes the disease.this Obtained FDA approval for the first time In 2018, an RNAi drug was awarded to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ drug Onpattro, a drug for the treatment of nerve pain caused by a rare genetic disease.
Novo Nordisk’s product portfolio is diabetes-oriented, but the Danish-based pharmaceutical giant has been expanding its scope to other metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases. In 2019, the company paid Dicerna US$175 million and US$50 million in equity investment in advance. Start cooperation Develop drugs for the treatment of metabolic diseases, including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, type 2 diabetes and obesity. According to the agreement, Dicerna funds discovery and preclinical research, while Novo Nordisk is responsible for further development.
Dicerna’s own pipeline covers a range of metabolic and cardiometabolic diseases. But not all of Dicerna’s procedures are going well. Nedosiran is an RNAi therapy for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, a rare kidney disease, and the results were disappointing in the third phase of August. Primary hyperoxaluria is divided into three types, The results show that The Dicerna drug successfully resolved only the most severe types. Dicerna’s stock price fell as the result would limit Nedosiran’s ability to compete with the main hyperoxaluria drugs currently marketed by Alnylam. But Dicerna has other projects, most of which are developed in alliances with large companies. Partners include Roche, Alnylam, Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca subsidiary Alexion.
Large pharmaceutical companies have been closing deals to get a share of the RNAi market. More than a year ago, Takeda Pharmaceuticals paid Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals US$300 million in advance to start cooperation An RNAi drug for the treatment of rare liver diseases. The deal adds to Arrowhead’s existing alliances with Horizon Therapeutics, Johnson & Johnson and Amgen.Novartis has also joined the RNAi field and completed its Acquired The Medicines Company for USD 9.7 billion, A transaction surrounding the company’s RNAi drug to treat high cholesterol.
The board of directors of Novo Nordisk and Dicerna has approved the transaction, and it is expected that the transaction will be completed by the end of this year.
Photo: Jean-François Monier/AFP, from Getty Images
