Skyhawk, Vertex Enter Into Research Collaboration On Serious Diseases

(RTTNews) - Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc. and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VRTX) has formed a strategic collaboration to discover and develop novel small molecules that modulate RNA splicing for the treatment of serious diseases.

As per the collaboration deal, Vertex will pay Skyhawk $40 million upfront. Skyhawk will grant Vertex options to exclusively license worldwide intellectual property rights to candidates discovered and developed under the collaboration that are directed to program targets.

Vertex will be responsible for further development and commercialization. Skyhawk is also eligible to receive up to $2.2 billion in potential milestone payments, as well as potential royalties on future sales.