WAVE Life Sciences Enters Collaboration with Pfizer to Develop Genetically Targeted Therapies for the Treatment of Metabolic Diseases

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WAVE Life Sciences Ltd. (NASDAQ:WVE) today announced that it has entered
into a research, license and option agreement with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:
PFE) for the potential development of nucleic acid therapies aimed at
silencing the underlying causes of debilitating metabolic diseases. The
collaboration will focus on genetically defined targets and bring
together WAVE’s proprietary stereopure drug development platform, across
antisense and RNAi modalities, along with GalNAc and Pfizer’s hepatic
targeting technology for enhanced delivery to the liver.
Under the terms of the agreement, WAVE will advance up to five programs
from discovery through to the selection of clinical candidates, at which
point Pfizer may elect to exclusively license the programs and undertake
further development and potential commercialization. Two targets have
been declared upon initiation of the agreement, including WAVE’s
Apolipoprotein C-III program, with the remaining targets to be declared
within eighteen months. In addition, WAVE has received rights to
Pfizer’s hepatic targeting technology, which WAVE may elect to use for
hepatic programs beyond the collaboration. Should WAVE use this
technology, Pfizer is eligible to receive potential development and
commercial milestone payments from WAVE. Pfizer is also eligible to
receive tiered royalties on sales of any products that include Pfizer’s
hepatic targeting technology.
WAVE’s platform enables the design and development of stereopure nucleic
acid therapeutics, which are optimized across multiple dimensions of
pharmacology, including efficacy, stability, specificity and safety.
WAVE’s platform offers the flexibility to design therapeutics across
multiple modalities, including antisense, RNAi and exon-skipping.
Per the agreement, Pfizer agreed to pay $40 million upfront, $30 million
of which is in the form of an equity investment in WAVE at a price of
$16 per share. In addition, assuming five potential products are
successfully developed and commercialized, WAVE may earn up to $871
million in potential research, development and commercial milestone
payments from Pfizer, plus royalties, tiered up to low double-digits, on
sales of any products that may result from the collaboration.
“We are excited about this collaboration with Pfizer, which will enable
us to combine WAVE’s innovative platform capabilities with Pfizer’s
metabolic development and commercialization capabilities with the goal
of making meaningful medicines for patients,” said Paul Bolno, M.D.,
MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer of WAVE Life Sciences. “This
alliance is consistent with WAVE’s strategy to build and advance a
portfolio of medicines for neurological and neuromuscular diseases,
while working with partners with deep expertise in other important
therapeutic areas. We expect that our existing cash together with the
upfront payment will enable us to fund our operating expenses and
capital expenditure requirements into 2019.”
“Our collaboration with WAVE represents Pfizer’s commitment to embracing
the most modern technologies as therapeutic modalities in our core areas
of focus, which we feel will make a significant difference for patients
in need,” said Morris Birnbaum, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President and
Chief Scientific Officer, Cardiovascular & Metabolic Research Unit,
Pfizer. “To accomplish this, we must commit to the most promising
technologies, and we believe that WAVE’s oligonucleotide strategy is
among the best. By working together to develop unique, proprietary
technologies emerging from both companies, we will explore new
liver-targeted approaches to address the cause of genetically defined
diseases and interrupt the progression of complex, metabolic disorders.”
About WAVE Life Sciences
At WAVE Life Sciences, we are driven by an unwavering passion and
commitment to deliver on our mission of confronting challenging diseases
by developing transformational therapies and empowering patients. We are
utilizing our innovative and proprietary synthetic chemistry drug
development platform to design, develop and commercialize stereopure
nucleic acid therapeutics that precisely target the underlying cause of
rare and other serious genetically defined diseases. Given the
versatility of our chemistry platform, WAVE’s deep, diverse pipeline
spans multiple modalities including antisense, exon-skipping, and
single-stranded RNAi. For more information, please visit www.wavelifesciences.com and
follow us on Twitter at @WAVELifeSci
and LinkedIn.
Forward Looking Information
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as
amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the
research, license and option agreement, including our ability to advance
candidates to the clinical selection stage, Pfizer’s decision to
exercise its option to license the programs and undertake further
development and potential commercialization, and our ability to earn
contingent payments, among other forward-looking statements. The words
“may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,”
“anticipate,” “intend,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “project,”
“potential,” “continue,” “target” and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking
statements contain these identifying words. Any forward-looking
statements in this press release are based on management’s current
expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks,
uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any
forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including,
without limitation, the risks and uncertainties described in the section
entitled “Risk Factors” in WAVE’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended December 31, 2015, as filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) on March 30, 2016, and other filings that WAVE may make
with the SEC from time to time. Any forward-looking statements contained
in this press release represent WAVE’s views only as of the date hereof
and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any
subsequent date. WAVE explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any
forward-looking statements.