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Print Edition StoriesMonday, December 8, 2008
Alnylam buys RNAi IP from Nucleonics
In their own words: Tod Woolf, CEO, RXi Pharmaceuticals Corp.
Live from BIO 2008: Josh Boger, president and CEO, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Biotech company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. has bought up a large portfolio of intellectual property from Nucleonics Inc.
Alnylam (Nasdaq: ALNY), an RNAi therapeutics company, said it had purchased more than 100 active patent filings from Langhorne, Pa.- based Nucleonics, a privately-held biotech company. Of those patents, 16 have been granted worldwide and six have been granted in the U.S., the European Union, and Japan.
The Nucleonics portfolio includes some early RNAi therapeutics patents and patent applications, such as the “Giordano” patent families. These extend Alnylam’s existing IP, which is comprised of the Crooke, Fire & Mello, Kreutzer-Limmer, Glover, Tuschl I, Tuschl II, Hannon, and Kay patent families. Cambridge-based Alnylam didn’t disclose the financial terms but did say the acquisition wouldn’t change Alnylam’s financial guidance of closing the year with more than $500 million in cash.
In October Alnylam received a $20 million milestone payment from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. That deal built on an existing $100 million Takeda had already given it; the Takeda relationship has the potential to reach up to $1 billion for Alnylam. In May 2008, Takeda and Alnylam formed a partnership allowing Takeda to use RNAi therapeutics technology and to have specific rights to intellectual property in the areas of metabolic and cancer diseases.
Alnylam reported a 2007 net loss of $85.5 million on revenue of $50.9 million.
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