Bristol Myers Squibb to Take Stake in Avidity Biosciences, Expand Partnership

By Will Feuer

Bristol Myers Squibb will take a stake in Avidity Biosciences as part of a broader licensing and research deal focused on the development and commercialization of multiple cardiovascular targets.

Bristol will pay Avidity $60 million in cash and buy about $40 million of its stock at a price of $7.88 a share as part of the deal.

Avidity could earn up to about $1.35 billion in research and development milestone payments, and up to about $825 million in commercial milestone payments. Avidity also will be eligible for tiered royalties of up to a low double-digit percentage of net sales. Bristol will fund all clinical development, regulatory and commercialization activities tied to the collaboration.

Avidity is working on developing a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates, which are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to target the root cause of diseases previously untreatable with RNA therapeutics.

The new deal with Bristol expands a 2021 research pact that Avidity struck with MyoKardia, a Bristol subsidiary, to explore the potential use of AOCs in cardiac tissue.

Write to Will Feuer at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2023 07:06 ET (12:06 GMT)

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