Silence Therapeutics PLC (LON:SLN, NASDAQ:SLN) said it has received the final US$40mln from a US$80mln cash and equity investment from AstraZeneca, adding that it expects to be working on up to five targets in the next three years with the Anglo-Swedish giant.
The collaboration, which was inked last March, provides AZ scientists with access to Silence’s small interfering RNA, or siRNA technology, and specifically the mRNAi GOLD platform.
The companies have started work on two undisclosed drug candidates with another three in the pipeline. The pair will focus on potential new treatments for cardiovascular, renal, metabolic and respiratory diseases.
Under the terms of the deal, Silence is entitled to up to US$400mln in milestone payments and royalties for each disease area targeted.
"We've made significant progress in our collaboration with AstraZeneca over the past year and are well-positioned to initiate work on five disease targets within the first three years,” said Silence chief executive Mark Rothera.
“This underscores our firm commitment to rapidly advance our pipeline through both our wholly owned programs and partnership programmes."