Arbutus Biopharma Corporation an industry-leading therapeutic solutions company focused on developing a cure for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection announced it has licensed to Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. its proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for exclusive use in one of Alexion’s rare disease programs. This transaction enables Alexion to address delivery for therapeutic application of messenger RNA (mRNA) and rapidly enter clinical development with its mRNA product candidate.
Under the terms of the license agreement, Alexion will pay Arbutus $7.5 million upfront, and payments of up to $75 million for achievement of development, regulatory, and commercial milestones, as well as single digit royalties. In addition, Arbutus will conduct technology development and provide manufacturing and regulatory support for the rapid advancement of Alexion’s mRNA product candidate.
"This agreement validates our leadership position in LNP technology and underscores the value of this platform in enabling RNA therapeutics. We are excited to be working with Alexion to advance a treatment for rare disease," said Dr. Mark J. Murray, Arbutus’ President and CEO. "Our core focus as a company remains the cure of HBV. This transaction with Alexion illustrates the value of our LNP platform, which has broad potential to deliver mRNA and gene editing therapeutics. We are receiving significant interest from companies that require access to our LNP platform to enable their own development programs. Our LNP expertise and intellectual property will contribute both near and long term value to Arbutus.”
