Moderna Injects $76 Million To Kickstart Lipid Nanoparticle Delivery Partnership With Generation Bio

Moderna has entered a partnership with Generation Bio to combine their technologies and develop lipid nanoparticles using Generation Bio’s stealth cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle (ctLNP) delivery system. The collaboration is expected to advance the companies’ respective pipelines of non-viral genetic medicines. 

“Through this collaboration, which builds on Generation Bio’s non-viral genetic medicines platform, we have the potential to target immune cells with diverse nucleic acid cargos and the liver for gene replacement. We are excited to have Generation Bio as our partner as we continue to broaden our therapeutic pipeline and extend the potential benefit of nucleic acid therapeutics to more patients,” said Rose Loughlin, Ph.D., Moderna’s Senior Vice President for Research and Early Development.

Phillip Samayoa, Ph.D., Chief Strategy Officer of Generation Bio, added that non-viral DNA therapeutics could offer durable, redosable, and titratable genetic medicines to patients with rare diseases. 

“This collaboration represents a foundational investment in our platform science, both deepening our pipeline of rare and prevalent liver disease programs beyond hemophilia A and accelerating our work to reach outside of the liver with nucleic acid therapies,” he said. 

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Moderna Given Option to Advance Immune Cell and Liver Programs

The collaboration gives Moderna an option to license Generation Bio’s ctLNP and close-ended DNA (cdDNA) technology for two immune cell programs and two liver programs. Moderna could also opt into a third immune cell or liver program. 

Moderna will pay Generation Bio $40 million upfront and make a  $36 million equity investment at a premium over recent share prices. The agreement also allows Moderna to participate in a future financing round by Generation Bio.

Furthermore, Moderna will fund all collaboration work, including a pre-payment for research. The collaboration may also bring Generation Bio additional milestone payments and product royalties. 

Finally, the companies will advance in vivo immune cell targeting as a new class of genetic medicines. Any products that Moderna develops using ctLNP technology could generate exclusivity fees, milestone payments, and royalties for Generation Bio.

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Joy Lin

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