Replicate Bioscience Announced A Multi-year Research Collaboration With Novo Nordisk, Leveraging srRNA Technology For Other Cardiometabolic Diseases, Replicate Will Receive Research Funding And Could Potentially Receive Up To Approximately $550M, In Addition To Sales Royalties

Replicate Bioscience, a clinical-stage company pioneering next-generation self-replicating RNA (srRNA) technology for applications across infectious disease, immunology, and other therapeutic areas, today announced a multi-year research collaboration with Novo Nordisk. This collaboration unites Novo Nordisk's deep therapeutic knowledge and drug development expertise with Replicate's novel srRNA platform to develop new therapeutic candidates to treat obesity, type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic diseases.

Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk and Replicate will collaborate on certain targets for cardiometabolic diseases. Novo Nordisk will receive a defined exclusive, worldwide license to use Replicate's srRNA platform to develop and commercialize the lead programs. Replicate will receive research funding and is eligible to receive up to US$550 million from Novo Nordisk. This includes an up-front cash payment and potential milestone payments. Replicate is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on future product sales as part of the multi-year deal.

"Replicate works with industry leaders to create fit-for-purpose srRNA that enables patients' cells to naturally generate their own therapeutic proteins," said Rachael Lester, MBA, Chief Business Officer at Replicate Bioscience. "This partnership combines the strength of Replicate's proprietary srRNA vector library with Novo Nordisk's therapeutic and clinical insights to create powerful new opportunities. We are very excited to collaborate with the team at Novo Nordisk."

Replicate has an extensive toolbox of proprietary srRNA technology that enables customization of their protein expression profiles. Replicate's platform has demonstrated higher protein expression with greater durability and tunability in vivo, as compared with other RNA modalities.

"Novo Nordisk is continuously looking to build on its leading position in cardiometabolic diseases. We seek to combine our core capabilities with selected modality platforms to raise the innovation bar to the benefit of people living with serious chronic diseases," said Karina Thorn, Corporate Vice President of Nucleic Acid Research at Novo Nordisk. "We are excited about this partnership with Replicate, as it allows us to create a new avenue for development of novel, impactful therapies."

"We founded Replicate to overcome the limitations of conventional mRNA," said Nathaniel Wang, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Replicate Bioscience. "This collaboration reinforces the transformative potential of Replicate's science and expedites our innovative pipeline of prophylactic vaccines and srRNA-powered therapeutic proteins."

Replicate's most advanced therapeutic protein asset targets IL-1 receptor agonist and IL18 binding protein for dual-blockade of cytokines downstream of inflammasome activation, which plays a critical role in inflammatory diseases including chronic IBD, gout, and recurrent pericarditis.