CHESHIRE, Conn. & CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALXN) and Moderna Therapeutics
today announced an exclusive strategic agreement for the discovery and
development of messenger RNA Therapeutics™ to treat rare diseases.
Alexion is a global leader in the development and commercialization of
breakthrough therapies for patients with severe and life-threatening
rare diseases. Moderna is a pioneer in developing messenger RNA (mRNA)
Therapeutics™, a highly innovative treatment modality to enable the in
vivo production of therapeutic proteins.
Messenger RNA Therapeutics™ are designed to directly utilize the body's
natural processes to enable the in vivo production of both
intracellular proteins, which remain within the cells, and secreted
proteins, which are released into the bloodstream and act to restore
function elsewhere in the body. As a result, the mRNA Therapeutics™
platform has the potential to speed the development and manufacture of
treatments for many rare diseases that are currently untreatable with
existing technologies.
Under the agreement, Alexion will make an upfront payment to Moderna of
$100 million to purchase 10 product options to develop and commercialize
treatments for rare diseases with Moderna's mRNA Therapeutics™ platform.
Alexion will lead the discovery, development and commercialization of
the treatments produced through this broad, long-term strategic
agreement, while Moderna will retain responsibility for the design and
manufacture of the messenger RNA against selected targets. Following
option exercise by Alexion, Moderna will be entitled to drug development
and commercial milestone payments, as well as high single to double
digit royalties on commercial sales. In addition, Alexion has made a $25
million preferred equity investment into Moderna today.
"This broad and long-term strategic agreement represents a significant
expansion of Alexion's capabilities for drug discovery, and provides us
with the strong potential to further our mission of developing novel and
breakthrough therapies for patients with severe and life-threatening
rare diseases," said Leonard Bell, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of
Alexion Pharmaceuticals. "We consider Moderna's mRNA Therapeutics to be
an especially exciting drug discovery platform, and we look forward to
combining Moderna's deep expertise in mRNA with Alexion's significant
global resources and expertise in drug discovery, clinical studies,
regulatory affairs and commercialization for the benefit of patients
worldwide."
"Moderna's strategy is to aggressively seek to commercialize its mRNA
platform for patients in need," said Stéphane Bancel, President and
founding CEO of Moderna. "Given the broad potential of this new drug
modality, we wanted to forge a few long-term strategic relationships
with best-in-class companies. As we were looking for a global leader
with a proven track record in the discovery, development and global
commercialization of treatments for patients with rare diseases,
entering into a strategic agreement with Alexion became an obvious
choice for us. We were very impressed with the Alexion team's passion to
treat patients with severe and life-threatening diseases, its biology
expertise, as well as its clinical and commercial capabilities. We are
very pleased and honored to work with such a dedicated company to bring
new medicines to patients."
About Alexion
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
serving patients with severe and rare disorders through the innovation,
development and commercialization of life-transforming therapeutic
products. Alexion is the global leader in complement inhibition and has
developed and markets Soliris® (eculizumab) as a treatment
for patients with PNH and aHUS, two debilitating, ultra-rare and
life-threatening disorders caused by chronic uncontrolled complement
activation. Soliris is currently approved in nearly 50 countries for the
treatment of PNH, and in the United States, European Union, Japan and
other countries for the treatment of aHUS. Alexion is evaluating other
potential indications for Soliris in additional severe and ultra-rare
disorders beyond PNH and aHUS, and is developing other highly innovative
biotechnology product candidates across multiple therapeutic areas. This
press release and further information about Alexion Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. can be found at: www.alexionpharma.com.
About Moderna Therapeutics
Moderna is pioneering messenger RNA Therapeutics™, an entirely new in
vivo drug modality that produces human proteins or antibodies inside
patient cells, which are in turn secreted or active intracellularly.
This breakthrough platform addresses currently undruggable targets and
offers a superior alternative to existing drug modalities for a wide
range of disease conditions. Moderna has developed a broad intellectual
property estate, including more than 250 patent applications covering
novel nucleotide chemistries and drug compositions. The company plans to
develop and commercialize its innovative mRNA drugs through a
combination of strategic relationships as well as new formed ventures.
Founded in late 2010 by Flagship VentureLabs, Cambridge-based Moderna is
privately held and currently has strategic agreements with AstraZeneca
and Alexion Pharmaceuticals. www.modernatx.com
[ALXN-G]
Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements, including
statements related to anticipated target selection, drug discovery,
clinical development, regulatory and commercial milestones resulting
from the agreement between Alexion and Moderna. Forward-looking
statements are subject to factors that may cause Alexion's results and
plans to differ from those expected, including for example, outcomes of
pre-clinical and clinical studies, success in manufacturing target
products, decisions of regulatory authorities regarding marketing
approvals, and a variety of other risks set forth from time to time in
Alexion's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including
but not limited to the risks discussed in Alexion's Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2013, and in Alexion's
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alexion does
not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect
events or circumstances after the date hereof, except when a duty arises
under law.
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Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Irving Adler, 203-271-8210
Executive
Director, Corporate Communications
or
Media:
Alexion
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Kim Diamond, 203-439-9600
Senior
Director, Corporate Communications
or
Investors:
Rx
Communications
Rhonda Chiger, 917-322-2569
or
Moderna
Therapeutics
Maria Favorito, 617-761-6720
Maria.Favorito@fkhealth.com
Source: Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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