Rare Daily Staff
Takeda Pharmaceutical and Genevant Sciences entered into a global collaboration and license agreement to discover, develop, and commercialize lipid nanoparticle-delivered RNA therapeutics to treat liver fibrosis.
Takeda will have access to Genevant’s innovative lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology to develop nucleic acid therapeutics directed to specified targets in historically inaccessible hepatic stellate cells to treat liver fibrosis. Under the terms of their agreement, Genevant is initially eligible to receive up to $600 million in upfront and milestone payments, plus royalties on future product sales. Takeda has exclusive rights to Genevant’s LNP technology for a specified number of selected hepatic stellate cells targets.
“It is well established that activated hepatic stellate cells are implicated in the progression of fibrotic liver disease, but unfortunately access to these cells has been elusive,” said Pete Lutwyche, president and CEO, Genevant Sciences. Genevant has developed a novel hepatic stellate cell-directed LNP platform to meet this challenge and is partnering with Takeda to develop new treatments for patients suffering from liver fibrosis.
“Late-stage liver disease remains an area where new treatment options are desperately needed, so we are committed to exploring new and innovative approaches,” said Bernard Allan, head of liver disease research at Takeda. “The ability to target hepatic stellate cells with novel payloads leveraging Genevant’s lipid nanoparticle technology is an exciting opportunity to discover and develop first-in-class therapies that we anticipate will halt or reverse the progression of liver fibrosis.”
Photo: Peter Lutwyche, president and CEO, Genevant Sciences
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