Avidity Biosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of RNA therapeutics called Antibody Oligonucleotide Conjugates (AOCs), entered a global licensing and research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of multiple cardiovascular targets with potential cumulative payments of up to $2.3 billion. 
 
AOCs are designed to combine the specificity of monoclonal antibodies with the precision of oligonucleotide therapies to target the root cause of diseases previously untreatable with RNA therapeutics. 
 
Avidity will receive $100 million upfront, which includes a $60 million cash payment as well as the purchase of approximately $40 million of Avidity stock. Avidity is also eligible to receive up to approximately $1.35 billion in R&D milestone payments, up to approximately $825 million in commercial milestones, and royalties on sales. Bristol Myers Squibb will fund all future clinical development, regulatory and commercialization activities for this collaboration.
 
“We are excited to expand our collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, who are world leaders in cardiovascular drug discovery and development. This strategic collaboration solidifies our commitment in cardiology as we continue to advance our own research and development programs in cardiac indications,” said Sarah Boyce, president and chief executive officer at Avidity. “We look forward to broadening the utility of the AOC platform to address debilitating diseases previously unreachable with existing RNA therapies.”
 
“This collaboration with Avidity represents an important part of our continued investment in innovative therapeutic approaches that have the potential to provide transformative outcomes to patients living with serious cardiovascular conditions,” said Francisco Ramírez-Valle, MD, PhD, senior vice president and head of the Immunology & Cardiovascular Thematic Research Center at Bristol Myers Squibb. “Aligned with our focus on causal human biology and efforts to successfully match therapeutic modalities to disease mechanism, our R&D organization will continue to leverage technologies like Avidity’s AOC platform to identify meaningful targets.”