Elsie Biotechnologies Announces Collaboration with GSK to Accelerate Oligonucleotide Discovery Technologies

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Elsie Biotechnologies, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company unlocking the full potential of oligonucleotide therapeutics, announced today a research collaboration agreement with GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) to advance the discovery and development of Elsie’s innovative oligonucleotide discovery platform with the aim of finding novel oligonucleotides optimized for safety, efficacy, and delivery. The collaboration combines GSK’s extensive expertise in DNA encoded library technologies with Elsie’s drug discovery platform. The companies will begin an initial research period where GSK and Elsie will explore the platform capabilities. Throughout the research term, GSK may exercise an option to a non-exclusive license from Elsie for the discovery platform and P(V) chemistry technologies to employ in GSK’s own oligonucleotide drug discovery research.

Kevin Green, Chief Operating Officer, Elsie Biotechnologies, said: “Our next generation oligonucleotide therapeutics, which include RNA medicines, enable new opportunities to treat intractable human diseases, including those with no current or limited therapeutic options. This collaboration combines GSK’s expertise as leaders in the field of DNA encoded library technologies with the unique capabilities of Elsie’s scientists and discovery platform with P(V) chemistry with the goal to discover new RNA medicines.”

Elsie’s discovery platform is an unparalleled ultra-high throughput proprietary process that allows for the complete evaluation of oligonucleotide chemical space. By applying proprietary encoding technology to oligonucleotide therapeutic candidates, all possible sequences or chemical modification patterns can be evaluated to increase activity, reduce toxicity, and improve delivery. Elsie also applies proprietary P(V) chemistry technologies, encompassing a suite of novel reagents and processes, to synthesize diverse oligonucleotide therapeutics with complete synthetic control.

Phil Baran, Ph.D., Cofounder, Elsie Biotechnologies, said, “By leveraging all the tools across Elsie’s platform, we can explore the entire chemical oligonucleotide space and uniquely define inter-nucleotide linkages and stereochemistry to tune safety, activity, and delivery of oligonucleotide therapeutics.” Phil Dawson, Ph.D., Cofounder, Elsie Biotechnologies, concluded, “We believe this approach will overcome the historical drug development limitations of this space and expand the use case for oligonucleotide medicines to previously intractable diseases.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Elsie will receive an upfront collaboration payment from GSK to conduct initial research activities. Upon exercising the option during the research term, GSK would be obligated to make further payments including licensing fees, development, and commercial milestones.

About Elsie Biotechnologies

Elsie Biotechnologies is a private biopharmaceutical company dedicated to unlocking the full potential of oligonucleotide therapeutics by integrating discovery, development, and delivery to increase potency, decrease toxicity, and optimize delivery. Elsie’s discovery platform accesses the entire oligonucleotide chemistry space to optimize current modalities in gene silencing and splice switching, and applies proprietary P(V) chemistry technologies to develop novel, diverse oligonucleotide therapeutics that are designed to be more potent, safer, and easier to deliver to target tissues. To learn more, please visit elsiebio.com.

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