Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN, NASDAQ:SLN) said it will receive US$2mln following the start of work on a third drug target as part of its research collaboration with Mallinckrodt.
The two are focused on the development and commercialisation of therapeutics that inhibit or 'silence' the complement cascade, a group of proteins involved in the immune system that play a role in the development of inflammation.
Using Silence's GOLD Platform, each target will be investigated before progressing into clinical development.
"Our expanding collaboration with Mallinckrodt highlights our commitment to maximise our mRNAi GOLD Platform through partnerships while also advancing our pipeline of wholly-owned programmes,” said chief executive Mark Rothera.
“We believe the potential for our platform to target disease-associated genes in the liver is substantial and continue to see real promise in our siRNA therapies to treat complement-mediated disorders."
Silence Therapeutics, independently and with partners, is developing a new generation of medicines by harnessing the body's natural mechanism of RNA interference.
RNAi inhibits the expression of specific target genes thought to play a role in diseases with significant unmet medical need.
Its messenger GOLD (GalNAc Oligonucleotide Discovery) Platform can be used to create siRNAs (small interfering RNA) that precisely target and silence disease-associated genes in the liver.