Novo Nordisk snatches Dicerna

The acquisition of Dicerna’s ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) platform is a strategic addition to Novo Nordisk’s existing research technology platforms and supports the strategy of using a broad range of technology platforms applicable across all Novo Nordisk’s therapeutic focus areas.
Dicerna is a publicly held company focusing on RNAi-based therapeutics with selectively silencing genes that cause or contribute to disease. Dicerna’s RNAi technology platform enables access to intracellular disease targets across hepatic and extrahepatic cell and tissue types.

In 2019, Novo Nordisk entered a research collaboration with Dicerna to discover and develop RNAi therapies, encompassing meanwhile the exploration of more than 30 liver cell targets with the potential to deliver multiple clinical candidates for disorders including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), type 2 diabetes, obesity and rare diseases. Novo Nordisk expects to initiate clinical development with the first target in 2022.
Now it seems to be favourable to take the whole company. Under the terms of the agreement, Novo Nordisk will commence a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Dicerna common stock for USD 38.25 per share in cash for a total equity value of approximately USD 3.3 billion, which is a surcharge of about 80%.

“The acquisition of Dicerna accelerates Novo Nordisk’s research within RNAi and expands the usage of the RNAi technology,” said Marcus Schindler, PhD, CSO of Novo Nordisk. “We build on our successful collaboration and by combining Dicerna’s state-of-the-art RNAi drug engine and intracellular delivery with our deep capabilities in disease biology understanding and tissue targeting through peptides and proteins we have the potential to expand our pipeline and deliver life-changing precision medicines for people living with chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and NASH as well as rare diseases like endocrine disorders and bleeding disorders”.
“Since the start of our collaboration two years ago, the Dicerna and Novo Nordisk teams have established a strong rapport built on a foundation of mutual respect for one another’s capabilities, culture and expertise,” said Douglas Fambrough, PhD, founder, president and chief executive officer of Dicerna.
The company currently has more than 20 active discovery, preclinical or clinical programmes focused on cardiometabolic, viral, chronic liver and complement-mediated diseases, as well as neurodegenerative diseases and pain.

Dicerna is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, and employs around 320 people.
The path was not always going smoothly for Dicerna and a dispute with Alnylam was a major challenge. Today collaboration has stepped in place.

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