Skyhawk News

A heavily financed biotech looking to drug RNA with small molecules is adding yet another company to its Big Pharma shortlist.

A heavily financed biotech looking to drug RNA with small molecules is adding yet another company to its Big Pharma shortlist.

A few years after becoming one of the first major biotechs out to drug RNA with small molecules, serial entrepreneur and filmmaker Bill Haney is reeling in another $133 million for Skyhawk Therapeutics.

Skyhawk will deploy its SkySTAR platform to develop drug candidates directed to multiple new targets for autoimmune and metabolic diseases. Skyhawk is eligible to receive approximately $600 million per program target consisting of an upfront cash payment and, if Merck exercises its option, potential opt-in fees, milestone payments, as well as royalties on sales of commercialized products.

Skyhawk and Celgene enter into a five-year strategic collaboration. Celgene to receive exclusive options to license a number of Skyhawk’s product candidates focused on high-value targets in neurological indications in return for an upfront fee, and potential future license fees, milestone payments, and royalties.

Celgene to receive exclusive options to license a number of Skyhawk’s product candidates directed to multiple high-value autoimmune disorder, oncology, and immuno-oncology targets.

Celgene is launching a $60 million collaboration with Skyhawk Therapeutics to develop and commercialize small molecules targeting RNA mis-splicing in neurological diseases.

Elliot Ehrich MD brings 25+ years R&D and clinical development leadership experience to the company; Graeme Smith PhD DABT brings 15+ years of nonclinical drug development leadership experience to the company.

Elliot Ehrich MD brings 25+ years R&D and clinical development leadership experience to the company; Graeme Smith PhD DABT brings 15+ years of nonclinical drug development leadership experience to the company.

Skyhawk Therapeutics Inc., one of the early leaders in developing small-molecule drugs that target RNA, closed out the year with yet another big pharma partnering deal, an alliance with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Vertex is fronting the pact with $40 million in cash to get things started. And then there’s more than $2 billion in milestones, which indicates the size of its ambitions.

Vertex has secured exclusive options to license Skyhawk Therapeutics’ candidates that modulate RNA splicing. The deal will see Vertex pay Skyhawk $40 million upfront and commit to up to $2.2 billion in milestones to secure options on multiple small molecules.

Bill Haney, an entrepreneur and filmmaker who has a finger in a multitude of pots, got this biotech started with a mere $8 million in seed cash. Since then, he’s brought in hundreds of millions more from marquee partners like Merck who have been convinced that the startup has the key to drugging RNA — one of the hottest plays in the discovery field.

Early collaborations with big-name partners lent Skyhawk Therapeutics both the endorsements and the capital to pursue a small molecule platform for drugging RNA. And they soon wanted more.

Merck has decided to double down on its research pact with startup Skyhawk Therapeutics as it expands the deal to now also cover autoimmune and metabolic diseases.

U-2 Dragon Lady, one of the conference rooms at Skyhawk Therapeutics’ office in Waltham, MA, is named after both the American single-jet engine, high altitude reconnaissance aircraft and founder Kathleen McCarthy.

Dr. Terrance Connolly brings over 20 years of biotech operations and business development experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer Skyhawk Therapeutics.

Based on factors like funding, partnerships, awards, technology licenses and more, we’ve worked to identify the startups that are on the precipice of something big. These companies, we think, will be making major moves to kick off the new Roaring 20s.

Celgene is shelling out $80 million in a cash upfront to add oncology, immuno-oncology and autoimmune diseases to the initial roundup of neurological targets mapped early in Skyhawk’s existence.

In Skyhawk’s fifth deal of the year, the company is moving into a new therapeutic area and adding $80 million to its cash reserve.

Skyhawk Therapeutics: Drugging RNA splicing with small molecules to treat disease.

Whatever Biogen learned about Skyhawk in the 6 months since it anted up $74 million to get a collaboration going with their R&D team on drugging RNA for neurodegeneration, it must have been a positive experience.

Bill Haney’s Skyhawk Therapeutics has scored another high-profile development partner.

BioSpace is proud to present its NextGen Bio “Class of 2019,” a list of 20 up-and-coming life science companies in North America that launched* no earlier than 2017.

These days at Biogen, the spotlight tends to fall on one of two programs: Its commercial SMA drug Spinraza, and the experimental Alzheimer’s therapy aducanumab — and its dealmaking team knows it.

A pair of deals announced Friday leaves Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) poised to expand the druggable space of its neurology pipeline.

Entrepreneur, scientist, doctor, startup founder, CEO, and in some cases, all of the above. This year’s Young Innovator award finalists—all 35 and under—have shown that they can do it all to try to translate an idea into new treatments….

A year after launching the cancer startup Dragonfly — allying himself with MIT’s Tyler Jacks and David Raulet out of Berkeley — he’s now back with his second upstart called Skyhawk Therapeutics.

Skyhawk Therapeutics has raised $8 million to move small molecules that correct RNA expression toward the clinic.

To launch his first biotech startup, Dragonfly Therapeutics, Bill Haney went to private family offices, including one linked to the Disney family, rather than venture firms.