GSK has signed a multi-year, multi-target strategic research alliance with biotech start-up Rgenta Therapeutics.
The alliance aims to advance the discovery and development of novel RNA-targeted small molecule splice modulators for multiple disease areas including oncology. The deal involves the use of Rgenta's proprietary discovery platform which mines genomics data to identify targetable RNA processing events and design small-molecule glues to modulate the interactions among the spliceosome, regulatory proteins, and RNAs.
Per the deal, GSK will pay Rgenta up to $46 million upfront and Rgenta has the potential to receive up to nearly $500 million per target in option exercise and milestone payments plus tiered royalties and a future equity investment. GSK also has an option to expand the alliance to include additional targets.
Rgenta, a Massachusetts-based biotech, launched in 2020 with a $20 million seed investment co-led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and Matrix Partners China. Rgenta's lead program, RGT-61159, is an orally available small molecule designed to modulate splicing of the transcription factor MYB, a known oncogene, and is being studied in a phase 1a/b study for the potential treatment of adenoid cystic carcinoma, colorectal cancer and other solid tumors as well as acute myeloid leukemia.