Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. has obtained Australian human research ethic committee (HREC) approval to conduct a phase I trial of SKY-0515 for Huntington’s disease.
Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. has cut a deal with Sanofi SA to discover and develop small molecules to treat targets in oncology and immunology, adding to its lengthy list of partnerships.
Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc., one of the early leaders in developing small-molecule drugs that target RNA, closed out the year with yet another big pharma partnering deal, an alliance with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc., in which it is getting $40 million up front plus up to $2.2 billion more in milestones and royalties on product sales.
Companies developing RNA-based therapies are now attracting significant investments, and the technologies and emerging products in the field have become desirable assets for big biopharmaceutical companies. In fact, during the past two years 20 deals have been executed, according to BioWorld data. Notably, last month Merck & Co. Inc. inked a partnership with Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. to lever its expertise in the discovery and development of small molecules that modulate RNA splicing, agreeing to pay Skyhawk up to $600 million per program target plus royalties on sales of any commercialized products of the collaboration.
Merck & Co. Inc. has tapped Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. for its expertise in the discovery and development of small molecules that modulate RNA splicing, agreeing to pay it up to $600 million per program target plus royalties on sales of any commercialized products of the collaboration. The deal, focused on potential treatments for certain neurological diseases and cancer, was accompanied by news of an expansion of Skyhawk's collaboration with Biogen Inc., which originally signed on with the Waltham, Mass-based company in January.