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Silence Therapeutics set to receive $2m as it initiates third drug target

09:57, 26th February 2021
Francesca Morgan
Vox Newswire
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Silence Therapeutics (SLN FOLLOW) is set to receive a $2m milestone payment after initiating work on a third target being explored under its ongoing RNAi research collaboration with Mallinckrodt ("Mallinckrodt") for the treatment of complement pathway-mediated diseases. 

The collaboration is focused on developing and commercialising RNAi therapeutics that are designed to inhibit or 'silence' the complement cascade, a group of proteins that are involved in the immune system and play a role in the development of inflammation.  

This is being conducted through the use of Silence’s proprietary mRNAi GOLD™ platform which is designed to precisely target and silence disease-associated genes. Each target in this collaboration will be investigated before it is progressed into clinical development.  

In July 2019, Silence Therapeutics received an upfront payment of $20 million from Mallinckrodt for an exclusive worldwide licence to one complement target and options for up to two additional targets, which Mallinckrodt has exercised at $2 million per target. 

Mallinckrodt is a global firm consisting of multiple wholly owned subsidiaries that develop, manufacture, market and distribute specialty pharmaceutical products and therapies. 

Under the terms of the agreement, Silence is responsible for both preclinical activities and for executing development of each target through Phase 1, after which Mallinckrodt will assume responsibility for all clinical development and global commercialisation.  

Shares in Silence Therapeutics have increased by over 40% in value in the past three months. The stock was trading 0.26% higher this morning at 588p following the news. 

SLN price chart

Silence is also eligible to receive tiered double-digit royalties on net sales for each optioned product candidate and up to $2 billion in total milestone payments across all three targets. 

Mark Rothera, President and CEO of Silence, commented: "Our expanding collaboration with Mallinckrodt highlights our commitment to maximize our mRNAi GOLD™ Platform through partnerships while also advancing our pipeline of wholly owned programs.  

He added, “We believe the potential for our platform to target disease-associated genes in the liver is substantial and continue to see real promise in our siRNA therapies to treat complement-mediated disorders." As a drug discovery company, Silence Therapeutics is focused on therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical need. 

Mark C. Trudeau, President and CEO of Mallinckrodt, commented, "We are pleased by the significant potential of Silence's RNAi technology to address the unmet needs of patients suffering from a range of rare diseases as well as conditions of immune dysregulation.” 

He added that, “We look forward to working with Silence to progress IND enabling studies related to our complement pathway C3 targeting program this year." 

Follow News & Updates from Silence Therapeutics here:  FOLLOW

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