Silence Therapeutics plc LON:SLN Chief Executive Officer Ali Mortazavi commented: “2016 was a year of transformation and transition for RNAi and Silence. The field has moved on rapidly based on scientific & clinical successes and along with our competitors in the field we have largely abandoned complex lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems in favour of the GalNAc conjugate approach. To capitalise on this new sector focus we were also able to utilise our strong balance sheet to acquire a strategic stake in Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, with whom we hope to work closely in 2017 and onwards.
2017-18 will be a pivotal period for RNAi as important clinical readouts in the field will, we believe, validate RNAi as a new powerful modality in drug development. Silence is well positioned to capitalise on these events with a multi-pronged strategy. Firstly, with these results, we have unveiled our initial set of high conviction liver based pre-clinical candidates at the research/discovery stage. We have worked extremely hard at target gene/disease selection, benefitting from the learnings of our competitors, and will continue to add to our pre-clinical programmes providing multiple shots on goal. Our company is highly focused on thorough vetting of potential candidates to minimise risk of failure.
Additionally, as well as our own internal programmes, we have a material interest in RNAi candidates outside of our own pipeline through our established siRNA stabilisation chemistry Intellectual Property (“IP”). Our IP provides a material stake in two of the leading RNAi clinical candidates through our licensing agreement with Quark Pharmaceuticals: QPI 1002 for both Acute Kidney Injury and Delayed Graft Function, where we expect meaningful readouts from Q3 2017 and Q3 2018 respectively. In addition, we also believe that our IP is a critical component of other late stage RNAi candidates. As RNAi becomes an established therapeutic approach, the Directors believe that the totality of our IP alone represents a very significant risk/reward upside relative to the market cap and enterprise value of Silence. As such, we look forward to the future with great confidence.”
Silence Therapeutics plc, AIM:SLN a leader in the discovery, delivery and development of novel RNA therapeutics for the treatment of serious diseases with unmet medical need, announces its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2016.
Highlights
– Successful transition to focus upon GalNAc targeting technology including selection of initial gene targets and new pipeline
– Milestone revenue of GBP0.8m from licensee Quark Pharmaceuticals after successful resolution to payment dispute
– Licensee Quark Pharmaceuticals Phase 2 QPI-1002 in AKI expected to have data readout in H2 2017, and Phase 3 QPI-1002 DGF in Q3 2018
– Strengthening of robust Intellectual Property portfolio to enable further licensing deals and co-development deals
– Acquisition of 4.7% of the issued share capital of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. in the period, at a purchase price of GBP4.3m
- Investment in tools, team and capacity to prosecute multiple programmes in parallel
– Founding of experienced Technology Advisory Board to advise upon strategic RNAi direction
- Plc Board restructured to a majority of Non-Executive Directors - Loss after tax for the period of GBP8.4m (2015: GBP6.6m) - Net cash & cash equivalents of GBP39.0m at 31 December 2016 (2015: GBP51.9m)
Post year end events
– During January 2017, Silence purchased a further 4.5% of the issued share capital of Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals Inc. for an additional purchase price of GBP4.9m, bringing the total holding to 9.2%, as announced on 13 January 2017
– New European patent granted March 2017 on key RNAi chemical modifications which reads widely across the RNAi industry
