Skyhawk News
Drugging RNA
Small molecules that target messenger RNA have therapeutic potential, but the field still lacks an unqualified success. Companies differ on how to move the resurgent field forward.

Drugging RNA with Pills : Small Molecules for a Big Frontier
Can biotechnology startups turn what were once accidental discoveries into a purposeful way to hit hard-to-reach disease targets?

Skyhawk Announces Collaboration Agreement with Sanofi for Oncology and Immunology Targets
A heavily financed biotech looking to drug RNA with small molecules is adding yet another company to its Big Pharma shortlist.

Bill Haney’s latest startup scores deal from Sanofi, its newest Big Pharma partner, with $54M upfront
A heavily financed biotech looking to drug RNA with small molecules is adding yet another company to its Big Pharma shortlist.

Bill Haney adds another $133M to Skyhawk’s coffers, as the RNA startup guns for the clinic
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 Therapeutics Announces Expansion of its Collaboration Agreement with Merck to Discover and Develop Novel Small Molecules that Modulate RNA Splicing
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 Therapeutics Announces Strategic Collaboration with Celgene to Discover and Develop Novel mRNA Splicing Modifiers using Skyhawk’s STAR* Technology Platform
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.

Skyhawk Therapeutics Announces a Second Multi-Target Collaboration Agreement with Celgene to Discover and Develop Novel Small Molecules that Modulate RNA Splicing
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.

Biotech Celgene inks $60M deal with newcomer Skyhawk to develop RNA drugs for ALS, Huntington’s
Celgene is launching a $60 million collaboration with Skyhawk Therapeutics to develop and commercialize small molecules targeting RNA mis-splicing in neurological diseases.

Skyhawk Therapeutics Completes New Investment Round
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 Expands Leadership Team, Appointing Elliot Ehrich MD as President and Graeme Smith PhD as SVP NonClinical Development
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.

$40M up front: Skyhawk takes flight with Vertex deal
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.

A busy, buzzy Vertex finds a high-profile partner in the RNA-drugging world to launch a fresh discovery effort
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 joins Skyhawk’s roster of A-list partners, securing options on RNA splicing modulators
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.

The Endpoints 11 : Here are some of the most promising startups in biotech. And Covid-19 isn’t going to stop them
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.

Merck doubles down on Skyhawk’s tech to drug RNA, promising $600M per autoimmune, metabolic target
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.

Skyhawk Therapeutics boosts Merck collab pact with added targets, upfront and biobucks
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.

The 20 under 40 : Inside the next generation of biopharma leaders
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.

Experienced Business Leader in Biopharmaceutical Industry Joins as Chief Operating Officer at Skyhawk Therapeutics
Dr. Terrance Connolly brings over 20 years of biotech operations and business development experience to his role as Chief Operating Officer Skyhawk Therapeutics.

The 20 Startups to Watch in Boston in 2020
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 execs shell out $92M cash for a pair of R&D deals that will fit perfectly in their new home at Bristol-Myers
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.

Skyhawk’s $80M Celgene deal expands remit to autoimmune
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.

C&EN’s 2019 10 Start-Ups to Watch
Skyhawk Therapeutics: Drugging RNA splicing with small molecules to treat disease.

Fattening the bankroll, Bill Haney adds cancer R&D powerhouse Merck to Skyhawk’s roster of partners out to drug RNA
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 spears another marquee alliance for its work drugging RNA in Takeda neuro pact
Bill Haney’s Skyhawk Therapeutics has scored another high-profile development partner.

Top 20 Life Science Startups to Watch in 2019
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.

Joining forces with Skyhawk, C4 Therapeutics, Biogen buys more shots on goal on SMA, Alzheimer’s
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.

Biogen looks to expand neuro pipeline via C4, Skyhawk deals
A pair of deals announced Friday leaves Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) poised to expand the druggable space of its neurology pipeline.

Creating Companies Before 35: Meet the Young Innovator Award Finalists
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….

The new serial entrepreneur in the biotech arena launches another upstart looking to drug RNA
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, copying Dragonfly model, gets cash for RNA R&D
Skyhawk Therapeutics has raised $8 million to move small molecules that correct RNA expression toward the clinic.