Silence Therapeutics and AstraZeneca extend siRNA deal
12-month extension to collaboration for the development of five siRNA programmes
UK-based biotechnology company Silence Therapeutics has agreed a one-year extension of its ongoing research and development collaboration with Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca.
Under the terms of the agreement, originally signed in July 2007, the firms are collaborating in development of five siRNA therapeutic molecules for respiratory and oncology diseases.
Silence's team is working with several of AstraZeneca's operational units including Medimmune in the US and teams in Sweden, the UK and China to progress the development of these siRNA molecules.
In addition to the initial £7.5m access fee paid to Silence in July 2007, the collaboration may generate up to £200m in fees and milestone payments plus royalties on product sales.
The terms of this agreement extension are separate from Silence's siRNA delivery collaboration with AstraZeneca, which was extended in April.
‘The extension of our development collaboration with AstraZeneca is testament to the successful relationship and the progress made in this collaboration,’ said Philip Haworth, chief executive of Silence.