Oct 2 (Reuters) – Chinese biotech company Abogen said on Friday it signed a licensing deal worth about $7.8 billion with Swiss drug maker Novartis to advance RNA-based therapy.
Novartis will gain exclusive rights to Abogen’s experimental drug, ABO2203, and options to license other therapies based on Abogen’s RNA technology. It will also have the option to license additional experimental medicines developed using Abogen’s RNA platform.
Under the deal, Abogen will receive $575 million upfront with the potential to earn an additional $7.2 billion if the drug advances through development and wins regulatory approval.
ABO2203 is designed to treat autoimmune diseases by targeting B cells, a type of immune cell that causes disease in conditions like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
(Reporting by Ruchika Khanna in Bengaluru and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Janane Venkatraman)
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