Alnylam Files Trade Secret Misappropriation Suit Against Dicerna Pharmaceuticals
June 10 2015 - 4:00PM
Business Wire
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced
today that it has filed a trade secret misappropriation lawsuit
against Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in the Superior Court of
Middlesex County, Massachusetts. By this lawsuit, Alnylam seeks to
stop misappropriation by Dicerna of the company’s confidential,
proprietary, and trade secret information related to, among other
things, GalNAc conjugate technology.
“Alnylam has led the discovery and development of GalNAc
conjugate technology for delivery of RNA therapeutics, including
through technology we obtained from our $175 million Sirna
Therapeutics acquisition in our 2014 transaction with Merck,” said
Barry Greene, President and Chief Operating Officer of Alnylam. “We
deeply value and respect intellectual property rights, and must
take appropriate steps to protect our trade secrets and
confidential information – in addition to those of our licensed
partners – when we believe they have been misappropriated. As our
efforts to obtain satisfactory assurances and cooperation from
Dicerna have been unsuccessful, we unfortunately need to seek
relief in the courts to protect and enforce our rights.”
The filed Alnylam complaint can be accessed on the Alnylam
website.
About RNAiRNAi (RNA interference) is a revolution in
biology, representing a breakthrough in understanding how genes are
turned on and off in cells, and a completely new approach to drug
discovery and development. Its discovery has been heralded as "a
major scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or
so," and represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing
frontiers in biology and drug discovery today which was awarded the
2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi is a natural
process of gene silencing that occurs in organisms ranging from
plants to mammals. By harnessing the natural biological process of
RNAi occurring in our cells, the creation of a major new class of
medicines, known as RNAi therapeutics, is on the horizon. Small
interfering RNA (siRNA), the molecules that mediate RNAi and
comprise Alnylam's RNAi therapeutic platform, target the cause of
diseases by potently silencing specific mRNAs, thereby preventing
disease-causing proteins from being made. RNAi therapeutics have
the potential to treat disease and help patients in a fundamentally
new way.
About GalNAc Conjugates and Enhanced Stabilization Chemistry
(ESC) GalNAc ConjugatesGalNAc-siRNA conjugates are a
proprietary Alnylam delivery platform and are designed to achieve
targeted delivery of RNAi therapeutics to hepatocytes through
uptake by the asialoglycoprotein receptor. Alnylam's Enhanced
Stabilization Chemistry (ESC) GalNAc-conjugate technology enables
subcutaneous dosing with increased potency, durability, and a wide
therapeutic index, and is being employed in several of Alnylam's
genetic medicine programs, including programs in clinical
development.
About Alnylam PharmaceuticalsAlnylam is a
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on
RNA interference, or RNAi. The company is leading the translation
of RNAi as a new class of innovative medicines. Alnylam's pipeline
of investigational RNAi therapeutics is focused in 3 Strategic
Therapeutic Areas (STArs): Genetic Medicines, with a broad pipeline
of RNAi therapeutics for the treatment of rare diseases;
Cardio-Metabolic Disease, with a pipeline of RNAi therapeutics
toward genetically validated, liver-expressed disease targets for
unmet needs in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; and Hepatic
Infectious Disease, with a pipeline of RNAi therapeutics that
address the major global health challenges of hepatic infectious
diseases. In early 2015, Alnylam launched its "Alnylam 2020"
guidance for the advancement and commercialization of RNAi
therapeutics as a whole new class of innovative medicines.
Specifically, by the end of 2020, Alnylam expects to achieve a
company profile with 3 marketed products, 10 RNAi therapeutic
clinical programs - including 4 in late stages of development -
across its 3 STArs. The company's demonstrated commitment to RNAi
therapeutics has enabled it to form major alliances with leading
companies including Merck, Medtronic, Novartis, Biogen, Roche,
Takeda, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Cubist, GlaxoSmithKline, Ascletis,
Monsanto, The Medicines Company, and Genzyme, a Sanofi company. In
addition, Alnylam holds an equity position in Regulus Therapeutics
Inc., a company focused on discovery, development, and
commercialization of microRNA therapeutics. Alnylam scientists and
collaborators have published their research on RNAi therapeutics in
over 200 peer-reviewed papers, including many in the world's top
scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature
Biotechnology, Cell, New England Journal of Medicine, and The
Lancet. Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains headquarters in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information about Alnylam's
pipeline of investigational RNAi therapeutics, please visit
www.alnylam.com.
Alnylam Forward Looking StatementsVarious statements in
this release concerning Alnylam's future expectations, plans and
prospects, including without limitation, Alnylam's expectations
regarding the initiation of legal proceedings against Dicerna, its
"Alnylam 2020" guidance, Alnylam's views with respect to the
potential for RNAi therapeutics, and its plans regarding
commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, constitute forward-looking
statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results
may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including,
without limitation, the outcome of litigation, Alnylam's ability to
manage operating expenses, Alnylam's ability to discover and
develop novel drug candidates and delivery approaches, successfully
demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its drug candidates, the
pre-clinical and clinical results for its product candidates, which
may not be replicated or continue to occur in other subjects or in
additional studies or otherwise support further development of
product candidates, actions of regulatory agencies, which may
affect the initiation, timing and progress of clinical trials,
obtaining, maintaining and protecting intellectual property,
Alnylam's ability to enforce its patents against infringers and
defend its patent portfolio against challenges from third parties,
obtaining regulatory approval for products, competition from others
using technology similar to Alnylam's and others developing
products for similar uses, Alnylam's ability to obtain additional
funding to support its business activities and establish and
maintain strategic business alliances and new business initiatives,
Alnylam's dependence on third parties for development, manufacture,
marketing, sales and distribution of products, and unexpected
expenditures, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the
"Risk Factors" filed with Alnylam's most recent Quarterly Report on
Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
and in other filings that Alnylam makes with the SEC. In addition,
any forward-looking statements represent Alnylam's views only as of
today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of
any subsequent date. Alnylam explicitly disclaims any obligation to
update any forward-looking statements.
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Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.Michael Mason,
617-551-8327Vice President, Finance and TreasurerorSpectrumLiz
Bryan (Media), 202-955-6222 x2526
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