Young biotech Dropshot Therapeutics has hooked in Etherna Immunotherapies with an RNA pact that could net up to $950 million.
The deal is intended to yield several new drug candidates across multiple undisclosed indications, according to a Jan. 9 release. Etherna will collect an undisclosed upfront payment, plus research funding, and then up to $950 million in milestone and royalty payments.
Both companies are tied to Kenneth Chien, Ph.D., a renowned scientist and co-founder of mRNA specialist Moderna, as well as Marijn Dekkers, Ph.D., former CEO of Bayer and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
Dropshot was co-founded in 2023 by Chien and Dekkers. Dekkers currently holds the top spot as CEO at the biotech.
Dropshot is focused on creating RNA-based therapeutics using lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs) to treat heart and kidney diseases. Not much else is known about the U.S.-based company, which does not have a publicly available website.
Then there’s Etherna, a Belgium- and Boston-based biotech formed in 2013 that touts both mRNA and LNP technologies. In 2022, the company raised a 39 million euro series B2 round that included participation from both Chien and Dekkers. Both Chien and Dekkers currently serve as an Etherna board members as well.
"Dropshot's expertise in heart and kidney disease aligns with Etherna's mission to be a technology leader in the development of nucleic acid-based medicines,” Etherna CEO Bernard Sagaert said in the release.