GSK Buys into Wave’s Oligonucleotide Program With $170 Million

In GSK’s latest partnership, the company will team up with Wave Life Sciences to purchase a preclinical RNA-editing program targeting alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), WVE-006, and the option for several more in a four-year discovery collaboration. Wave will receive $170 million upfront, with the potential for an extra $525 million in milestones for the WVE-006 program and even more in other development and sales milestones in other partnered programs. 

Continued Interest in the Oligonucleotide Market

Oligonucleotides are short, single, or double-strand RNA or DNA molecules that modify gene and protein expression. The main applications in biotech include antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) and RNA interference (RNAi), which several companies are trying to harness to develop therapies for historically difficult diseases to treat.

AATD is one of those historically difficult diseases to treat that Wave set out to develop a therapy for in WVE-006. The company developed its AIMers platform to correct mutations in an RNA transcript, removing the risk of permanently changing the genome, which occurs with DNA-targeting approaches. 

GSK agreed to pay Wave $170 million upfront for WVE-006, which it says will complement its other oligonucleotide therapies in development, bepirovirsen for chronic hepatitis B and GSK4532990 for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The deal could bring Wave an additional $225 million in development milestones and $300 million in sales milestones, with the potential for tiered sales royalties. GSK will take over development and commercialization responsibilities after Wave completes the first in-patient study for the program.

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The Start of a Long-Term Partnership

In addition to acquiring WVE-006, GSK agreed to a discovery collaboration that will include eight Wave-developed programs that could transfer to GSK upon investigational new drug (IND) enabling studies. Wave will leverage its PRISM oligonucleotide platform in tandem with GSK’s expertise in the field to develop these preclinical candidates. For these GSK-partnered programs, Wave could stand to make up to $130-175 million in development and launch milestones and up to $200 million in sales milestones, with tiered sales royalties. 

The companies agreed to start with a four-year discovery collaboration term but left the door open for an additional three-year stint once the first term finishes. The extra three years could even bring in extra programs to both parties if the two agree upon certain terms and conditions. 

Wave’s President and CEO, Paul Bolno, said the partnership is significant for the company to advance its pipeline and extend the company’s financial runway into 2025, providing ample room for development growth. 

GSK and Wave’s collaboration marks another milestone in oligonucleotide development and advances the technology’s potential to treat various diseases. Both companies stand to benefit substantially from the partnership, and seeing as it is a multi-year collaboration, the two will certainly share any significant developments in the future. 

Author

Reed Slater