Danish healthcare company Novo Nordisk and US-based biopharmaceutical company Korro Bio have entered a collaboration to discover and develop new genetic medicines.
The US biopharmaceutical company is developing a potential new class of genetic medicines, based on RNA editing, for both rare and highly prevalent diseases.
The collaboration will combine Korro’s unique OPERA platform with Novo Nordisk’s deep understanding and drug development experience in cardiometabolic diseases.
It aims to develop two RNA editing product candidates, initially for cardiometabolic diseases.
Under the terms of the collaboration, Korro will receive up to $530m in upfront, development and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties and R&D funding.
Korro will advance the two programmes through preclinical development after which Novo Nordisk could further advance the programs through clinical studies.
Korro CEO and president Ram Aiyar said: “Novo Nordisk is a global leader in the discovery, development and commercialisation of therapies for cardiometabolic diseases.
“This collaboration enables us to use our proprietary technologies and capabilities in RNA editing to develop potential new treatments for people living with chronic diseases without impacting our internal pipeline focus.
“This partnership will expand the opportunity to potentially bring targeted RNA editing to diseases with high prevalence.”
According to Korro Bio, there continues to be a need to explore novel treatment approaches for cardiometabolic conditions, including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The RNA editing technology can effectively modulate protein function, potentially enabling access to previously undruggable targets for cardiometabolic diseases.
Its OPERA platform seeks to use an oligonucleotide to co-opt a natural process in the human body to make changes in mRNA encoding the protein.
Also, the platform leaves the DNA genome unaltered to bring a pharmacologically titratable approach using genetic medicine, said the US biopharmaceutical company.
Novo Nordisk Bio Innovation Hub head Uli Stilz said: “We are excited to partner with Korro on its differentiated RNA editing platform as we explore novel technologies to address the unmet need for people living with cardiometabolic diseases.
“Korro’s platform aims to enable a titratable, transient, and highly specific editing approach at the RNA level, which has the potential to transform care.
“With our deep knowledge of cardiometabolic diseases and Korro’s unique approach, we have the opportunity to establish a new paradigm of treatment modalities for cardiometabolic diseases by addressing otherwise undruggable targets.”
