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Wave Life Sciences and GSK Announce Collaboration to Drive Discovery and Development of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Focusing on Novel Genetic Targets
Wave receives upfront payment of $170 million in cash and equity, also eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties Collaboration brings together
About this update from Wave Life Sciences Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"Wave receives upfront payment of $170 million in cash and equity, also eligible to receive milestone payments and royalties Collaboration brings together Wave’s PRISM™ oligonucleotide platform and GSK’s expertise in genetics and genomics GSK to advance up to eight preclinical programs Additionally, GSK receives exclusive global license to Wave’s preclinical, potential first-in-class RNA editing program, WVE-006, to treat alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, a disease that impacts the lungs and liver Wave to advance up to three preclinical programs for targets informed by GSK’s novel insights Wave to host investor conference call and webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET today CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and LONDON, Dec. 13, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (Nasdaq: WVE), a clinical-stage genetic medicines company committed to delivering life-changing treatments for people battling devastating diseases, and GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced a strategic collaboration to advance oligonucleotide therapeutics, including Wave’s preclinical RNA editing program targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), WVE-006. The discovery collaboration has an initial four-year research term. It combines GSK’s unique insights from human genetics, as well as its global development and commercial capabilities, with Wave’s proprietary discovery and drug development platform, PRISM™. Oligonucleotides are short strands of DNA or RNA that can reduce, restore, or modulate RNA through several different mechanisms. The unique capability of oligonucleotides to address a wide range of genomic targets in multiple therapeutic areas is enabling new opportunities to treat a range of human diseases, including diseases where no medicines currently exist or that have historically been difficult to treat with small molecules or biologics. Wave’s PRISM platform is the only oligonucleotide platform offering three RNA-targeting modalities (editing, splicing, and silencing, including siRNA and antisense). Importantly, these modalities incorporate novel chemistry, including PN backbone chemistry and control of stereochemistry, to optimize the pharmacological properties of therapeutic oligonucleotides. The collaboration includes two main components. The first is a discovery collaboration which enables GSK to advance up to eight programs and Wave to advance up to three programs...