Merck and Orna Therapeutics Collaborate to Advance Orna’s Next Generation of RNA Technology
16 August 2022 - 12:45PM
Business Wire
Collaboration supports multiple discovery
efforts, including vaccines
Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and
Canada, and Orna Therapeutics, a biotechnology company pioneering a
new investigational class of engineered circular RNA (oRNA)
therapies, today announced a collaboration agreement to discover,
develop, and commercialize multiple programs, including vaccines
and therapeutics in the areas of infectious disease and
oncology.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Merck will make an upfront
payment to Orna of $150 million, which will be expensed by Merck in
the third quarter of 2022 and included in non-GAAP results. In
addition, Orna will be eligible to receive up to $3.5 billion in
development, regulatory, and sales milestones associated with the
progress of the multiple vaccine and therapeutic programs, as well
as royalties on any approved products derived from the
collaboration. Orna will retain rights to its oRNA-LNP technology
platform and will continue to advance other wholly owned programs
in areas such as oncology and genetic disease. Merck will also
invest $100 million of equity in Orna’s recently completed Series B
financing round.
Orna’s proprietary oRNA technology creates circular RNAs (oRNAs)
from linear RNAs by self-circularization. oRNA molecules have been
shown to have greater stability in vivo than linear mRNA and have
the potential to produce larger quantities of therapeutic proteins
inside the body. Newly synthesized oRNA molecules are more
compactly packaged into custom lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which
Orna has engineered to target key tissues in the body. Preclinical
data, including presentations at the 2022 American Society of Gene
& Cell Therapy (ASGCT) Annual Meeting, have demonstrated the
potential of oRNA expression and delivery as an approach for
further development in multiple areas, including vaccines and
oncology therapeutics.
“This broad strategic collaboration brings together Merck’s
significant expertise in nucleic acid biology, clinical
development, and manufacturing with Orna’s compelling circular RNA
technology to explore the opportunity to develop a new generation
of potential vaccines and therapeutics,” said Fiona Marshall,
senior vice president and head of discovery, preclinical and
translational medicine at Merck Research Laboratories. “We look
forward to working with the talented scientific and technical teams
at Orna."
“We are thrilled to collaborate with Merck, a company committed
to breakthrough science, which has recognized the potential our
platform can bring to patients. Our oRNA technology plus novel
delivery solutions are designed to unlock the full potential of RNA
in therapeutics and vaccines,” said Tom Barnes, Chief Executive
Officer of Orna. “The combined expertise of Orna and Merck aims to
accelerate the development of RNA therapeutics for patients in need
of better treatment options.”
About Merck
At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada,
we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge
science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than
130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development
of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier
research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and
today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative
health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of
diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive
global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a
safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and
communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect
with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Orna Therapeutics
Orna Therapeutics was founded on groundbreaking research by Alex
Wesselhoeft, Ph.D., and Daniel G. Anderson, Ph.D. from MIT and
built by MPM Capital and BioImpact Capital, an investment
management affiliate of MPM. Orna’s proprietary circular RNA (oRNA)
is engineered as linear RNA that self-circularizes. By taking a
line and turning it into a circle, oRNA exhibits numerous
advantages over traditional linear mRNA therapies such as
simplified production, increased protein expression, and a superior
immunogenicity profile. With proprietary lipid nanoparticles
(LNPs), including those from Orna’s joint venture with ReNAgade
Therapeutics, an RNA delivery company, our technologies expand the
possibilities of what RNA therapeutics can achieve. To learn more
visit: www.ornatx.com and follow Orna Therapeutics on Twitter and
LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway,
N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA
(the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are
based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s
management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline candidates that
the candidates will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or
that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors,
including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations;
the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and
health care legislation in the United States and internationally;
global trends toward health care cost containment; technological
advances, new products and patents attained by competitors;
challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining
regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict
future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays;
financial instability of international economies and sovereign
risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and
other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory
actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause
results to differ materially from those described in the
forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the
company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220816005245/en/
Merck Media: Melissa Moody (215) 407-3536
Justine Moore (908) 740-6449
Merck Investor: Peter Dannenbaum (908) 740-1037
Orna Therapeutics Media: Peg Rusconi
prusconi@vergescientific.com
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