Benzinga | Apr 8, 2021 09:04AM EDT

Dicerna Sells Oxlumo Royalty Interest To Royalty Pharma For $180M Upfront

* Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ: RPRX) has acquired Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Inc's (NASDAQ: DRNA) royalty interest in Oxlumo (lumasiran) for an upfront cash payment of $180 million and up to $60 million in contingent sales-based milestone payments.

* The FDA and European Medicines Agency have approved Oxlumo (EMA) for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria (PH) type 1 and is marketed by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: ALNY).

* Dicerna became entitled to royalties on worldwide net product sales of Oxlumo as part of a 2020 non-exclusive intellectual property cross-license agreement between Dicerna and Alnylam related to the companies' PH programs.

* Dicerna is entitled to royalties in the mid to high single digits based on OXLUMO global net sales.

* This transaction, together with Dicerna's cash, cash equivalents, held-to-maturity investments, and anticipated milestone and other payments from existing collaborations, is expected to extend Dicerna's projected cash runway and be sufficient to fund the execution of its current clinical and operating plan into 2024.

* Price Action: DRNA shares closed 1.5% lower at $25.75 on Wednesday.