MDRNA Nabs $7.25M From Novartis

MDRNA, the Bothell, WA-based developer of RNA interference technology for drug development, said today it agreed to provide a non-exclusive license its technology to Novartis in exchange for $7.25 million in upfront fees. MDNRA (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]) also negotiated a separate deal that gives Novartis an exclusive period in which it can strike a larger R&D collaboration with MDRNA, although terms of that deal weren’t disclosed. MDRNA, which has run low on cash, plans to report its fourth quarter financial results tomorrow.

Author: Luke Timmerman

Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.