Biogen (BIIB) Stock Signs ASO Platform Deal With Alloy Therapeutics

TLDR

• Biogen has signed a multi-target collaboration with Alloy Therapeutics to use Alloy’s AntiClastic ASO platform for antisense drug development.
• The deal covers multiple undisclosed targets; Alloy gets an upfront payment plus milestone payments and tiered royalties.
• Biogen and Alloy have had a working relationship since 2020, previously focused on antibody treatments.
• RBC Capital cut its Biogen price target to $213 from $233, but kept an Outperform rating.
• The average analyst price target for BIIB sits at $210.30, with a consensus overweight rating.

Biogen has signed a new collaboration deal with Alloy Therapeutics, giving Biogen access to Alloy’s AntiClastic antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) platform across multiple undisclosed drug targets.

Biogen Inc., BIIB

Alloy will receive an upfront payment under the agreement, along with eligibility for milestone payments and tiered royalties if any products come to market.

The two companies have worked together since 2020, but that earlier relationship was focused on antibody treatments. This new deal moves into genetic medicine territory.

Biogen already has a track record in ASO drugs. Its Spinraza, used to treat spinal muscular atrophy, is one of the more established ASO therapies on the market. The new deal is aimed at building on that foundation using Alloy’s platform.

Alloy’s goals for the platform in this collaboration are focused on three things: greater potency, improved immunogenicity, and enhanced tissue targeting.

Alloy’s Growing Track Record

Alloy, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, has built its model around partnering with biopharma companies throughout drug discovery and development. Since 2017, it has signed roughly 200 collaborations, more than 100 of which have resulted in licensed therapeutic candidates.

Twenty-two drugs developed through Alloy’s platform have reached clinical trials. Last year, Sanofi signed a deal worth up to $400 million to use the same ASO platform in the hunt for a potential central nervous system therapy.

Christian Cobaugh, CEO of Alloy’s Genetic Medicine Division, said the Biogen deal will help the firm move beyond early-stage discovery into more downstream elements of drug development.

Unlike many platform biotechs that rely on partnerships to fund their own drug pipeline, Alloy has built its business around collaboration as the core model.

Analyst View on Biogen

On the analyst side, RBC Capital lowered its price target on BIIB to $213 from $233 on April 7, while keeping an Outperform rating on the stock.

Across analysts polled by FactSet, the average price target on Biogen stands at $210.30, with a consensus overweight rating.

BIIB was down 2.82% on the day the deal was announced.

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