Moderna and Generation Bio Announce Strategic Collaboration

Moderna announced on March 23, 2023 a collaboration with Generation Bio, a biotechnology company innovating genetic medicines for people living with rare and prevalent diseases, to combine Moderna’s biological and technical expertise with core technologies of Generation Bio’s non-viral genetic medicine platform. The collaboration aims to expand the application of each company’s technology by developing novel nucleic acid therapeutics, including those capable of reaching immune cells, to accelerate their respective pipelines of non-viral genetic medicines. Moderna will fund all research and development activities under the collaboration.

Under the agreement, Generation Bio will receive a $40 million upfront cash payment, a pre-payment of research funding, plus a $36 million equity investment from Moderna, with the potential for additional milestones, fees, and royalties. Moderna has also acquired an option to license Generation Bio’s cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle (ctLNP) and close-ended DNA (ceDNA) technology for two immune cell programs and two liver programs, with an additional option for a third immune cell or liver program.

"Moderna continues to invest in innovative technology to enable us to develop a breadth of transformative medicines for patients," said Rose Loughlin, Moderna's senior vice-president for research and early development, in a company press release. "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."

"Non-viral DNA therapeutics may offer durable, redosable, titratable genetic medicines to patients suffering from rare and prevalent diseases on a global scale," said Phillip Samayoa, chief strategy officer of Generation Bio, in the release. "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. We are thrilled to collaborate with Moderna to extend genetic medicines to new tissues and cell types through the joint development of noveltargeting for our stealth ctLNPs to reach immune cells."

Source: Moderna