Biotech Values

[Titan V]

Takeda rides the neuro R&D Wave with latest biotech pact
https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/takeda-rides-neuro-r-d-wave-latest-biotech-pact

Perennial biotech dealmaker Takeda is at it again, striking a new pact with Wave Life Sciences with a focus on a series of difficult-to-treat neurological disorders.

The R&D and sales collab, which has not come with any financial details, sees the pair work on antisense oligonucleotides for genetically-defined neurological diseases.

Oligonucleotides are designed to reduce the expression of disease-promoting proteins, or to transform the production of dysfunctional mutant proteins into the production of functional proteins, in what researchers hope will translate into a treatment.

Breaking it down, there are two parts to the deal: first up, Wave will focus on programs targeting Huntington’s disease (HD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3).

On this side, both have the option to co-develop and co-sell (should clinical proof of mechanism be found) across three areas:

WVE-120101 and WVE-120102, which selectively target mutant huntingtin and are currently in Phase 1b/2a clinical trials for the treatment of HD;
WVE-3972-01, which targets C9ORF72 and is expected to be evaluated in clinical studies for the treatment of ALS and FTD beginning in Q4 2018;
And Program targeting ATXN3 for the treatment of SCA3.
The second part sees the Japanese pharma take the rights to exclusively license a number of preclinical programs targeting other neurological disorders, including Alzheimer’s (which has not had the best few months, or in fact the best 15 years R&D-wise) and Parkinson’s disease.

And at any one time during a four-year term, the companies may partner up on up to six early-stage programs.

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