Biotech, diabetes, RNA Interference

MDRNA Gets $1M Milestone

Luke Timmerman 2/3/09

MDRNA, the Bothell, WA-based biotech company, said today it has received a $1 million milestone payment from San Diego-based Amylin Pharmaceuticals under an amended agreement to develop a nasally-delivered version of exenatide, a diabetes drug. MDRNA, formerly known as Nastech Pharmaceutical, used to specialize in nasal delivery before it switched its strategy in June to develop RNA interference drugs. The money comes at a critical time, as MDRNA (NASDAQ: MRNA) has run low on cash.

Luke Timmerman is the National Biotechnology Editor for Xconomy. You can e-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com, call 206-624-2374, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ldtimmerman.