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Dicerna, Novo Nordisk partner to develop novel liver disease therapies

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and Novo Nordisk announced an agreement to develop RNA interference therapies for liver-related cardiometabolic diseases, according to a press release.

“We are excited to collaborate with Novo Nordisk on this broad research and development effort that extends the reach of our GalXC platform to a wide range of liver cell targets and maximizes our opportunities in serious liver diseases,” Douglas M. Fambrough, PhD, president and CEO of Dicerna, said in the release.

As part of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will have access to Dicerna’s proprietary GalXC RNAi platform technology. According to Dicerna, liver-targeted GalXC-based compounds enable subcutaneous delivery of RNAi therapies that bind to receptors on liver cells, which leads to internalization and access to the RNAi machinery within the cells.

The companies plan to explore more than 30 liver cell targets to develop candidates for disorders such as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and other rare diseases.

“Through this important collaboration with Dicerna, we gain access to an innovative technology and deep expertise in RNA interference,” Marcus Schindler, senior vice president of global drug discovery at Novo Nordisk, said. “Dicerna is the ideal partner to discover and develop molecules for targets that may yield multiple potential treatments across disease areas such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular, and NASH. We will work closely together to unlock the true potential of treating a range of diseases using RNAi therapies, for the benefit of patients.”

Reference: www.dicerna.com; www.novonordisk.com