Partnership leverages Korro’s proprietary OPERATM platform to enable its oligonucleotide-directed RNA edits into two undisclosed targets; initially for cardiometabolic diseases

Total deal value of up to $530 million in upfront, development, and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties and R&D funding

CAMBRIDGE, MA, USA I September 16, 2024 I Korro Bio, Inc. (Korro) (Nasdaq: KRRO), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a potential new class of genetic medicines based on RNA editing for both rare and highly prevalent diseases, today announced a collaboration with Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, to advance the discovery and development of new genetic medicines, with the initial target to treat cardiometabolic diseases. The collaboration brings together Novo Nordisk’s deep cardiometabolic disease understanding and drug development experience with Korro’s proprietary platform to develop RNA editing product candidates for two undisclosed targets.

“Novo Nordisk is a global leader in the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for cardiometabolic diseases,” said Dr. Ram Aiyar, CEO and President of Korro. “This collaboration enables us to use our proprietary technologies and capabilities in RNA editing to develop potential new treatments for people living with chronic diseases without impacting our internal pipeline focus. This partnership will expand the opportunity to potentially bring targeted RNA editing to diseases with high prevalence.”

There continues to be a need to explore novel treatment approaches for cardiometabolic conditions including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. RNA editing can specifically and efficiently modulate protein function, potentially enabling access to previously undruggable targets for cardiometabolic diseases. Korro’s platform, Oligonucleotide Promoted Editing of RNA (OPERA), seeks to use an oligonucleotide to co-opt a natural process in the human body to make changes in mRNA encoding the protein, leaving the DNA genome unaltered, thus aiming to bring a pharmacologically titratable approach using genetic medicine.                         

“We are excited to partner with Korro on its differentiated RNA editing platform as we explore novel technologies to address the unmet need for people living with cardiometabolic diseases,” said Uli Stilz, Head of Novo Nordisk’s Bio Innovation Hub. “Korro’s platform aims to enable a titratable, transient and highly specific editing approach at the RNA level which has the potential to transform care. With our deep knowledge of cardiometabolic diseases and Korro’s unique approach, we have the opportunity to establish a new paradigm of treatment modalities for cardiometabolic diseases by addressing otherwise undruggable targets.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Korro is eligible to receive up to $530 million in upfront, development and commercial milestone payments, in addition to tiered royalties and R&D funding. Korro will advance up to two programs through preclinical development after which point Novo Nordisk could further advance the programs through clinical studies.

About Korro

Korro is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a new class of genetic medicines for both rare and highly prevalent diseases using its proprietary RNA editing platform. Korro is generating a portfolio of differentiated programs that are designed to harness the body’s natural RNA editing process to affect a precise yet transient single base edit. By editing RNA instead of DNA, Korro is expanding the reach of genetic medicines by delivering additional precision and tunability, which has the potential for increased specificity and improved long-term tolerability. Using an oligonucleotide-based approach, Korro expects to bring its medicines to patients by leveraging its proprietary platform with precedented delivery modalities, manufacturing know-how, and established regulatory pathways of approved oligonucleotide drugs. Korro is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, visit korrobio.com.

SOURCE: Korro