German pharmaceutical firm Bayer and US-based biotechnology company NextRNA Therapeutics have teamed up to develop new small molecule therapeutics for cancer.
NextRNA is focused on developing advanced medicines for diseases driven by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), a class of drugs that recruit RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) across diseases.
Under the collaboration and license agreement, Bayer and NextRNA will jointly advance two oncology programs targeting lncRNAs, in indications with highly unmet needs.
NextRNA will receive up to $547m for both programs, including upfront and near-term milestone payments, research funding, and development and commercial milestone payments.
In addition, the US drugmaker will also receive tiered royalties on net sales of products.
Bayer pharmaceuticals division business development and licensing head Juergen Eckhardt said: “With NextRNA’s exceptional expertise and lncRNA platform, we aim to advance novel small molecule therapeutics against a new class of targets in oncology.
“This partnership further adds to our mission to build one of the most transformative and diversified oncology pipelines in the industry.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Bayer will get access to NextRNA’s unique approach to inhibit lncRNAs by interrupting the link between lncRNAs and RBPs with small molecules.
NextRNA’s in-house developed platform combines its computational engine NextMap with deep lncRNA biology expertise and diverse biochemical, biophysics, and chemistry capabilities.
The first program is a lncRNA-targeting small molecule program currently in early preclinical development at NextRNA.
The second program will be among lncRNA targets that NextRNA’s platform has already identified, and Bayer can select one target for joint development.
NextRNA co-founder and CEO Dominique Verhelle said: “We are excited to partner with Bayer, a recognized leader in life sciences and oncology innovation.
“This collaboration recognizes lncRNAs as an exciting target class and confirms NextRNA’s position as both a leader in this space and a partner-of-choice for companies seeking to develop transformative small molecule therapeutics across disease areas.
“We look forward to working closely with the Bayer team to advance first-in-class cancer therapies while continuing to build our pipeline in oncology and neuroscience.”
