Quark Pharmaceuticals, the Fremont, CA-based developer of RNA interference drugs, said today it has struck a deal to provide Novartis with an option on an exclusive worldwide license to a new kidney treatment. Quark is getting $10 million in upfront cash, and could receive as much as $670 million in milestone payments, plus royalties on sales, if Novartis exercises its option to co-develop QPI-1002. The drug, which uses RNA interference techniques to silence the p53 protein, is being developed to prevent acute kidney injury in patients undergoing heart surgery.
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.
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