Isis, Biogen Ink Second Rare Disease Deal; Targeting DM1

Six months after signing an option agreement on a Phase I-stage antisense program in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Biogen Idec Inc. agreed to a similarly structured deal for an earlier-stage rare disease program targeting myotonic dystrophy Type I (DM1), a muscular wasting disease also known as Steinert disease.