MDRNA Buys Cequent, Signs Pfizer Pact

MDRNA has agreed to buy Cequent Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge, Mass.-based RNAi delivery firm, in an all-stock deal valued at roughly $46 million. The combined company will have multiple RNAi drug discovery platforms. It will also expand MDRNA’s oncology pipeline with a treatment for familial adenomatous polyposis, a genetic disorder that is a precursor to colon cancer. In a separate deal, MDRNA will use its dialkylated amino acid technology to formulate Pfizer’s oligonucleotides for preclinical studies. MDRNA says Pfizer is its fourth big pharma partner in recent months.