Alnylam and Regeneron announced they have joined forces in a multi-million dollar deal to discover, develop and commercialise new gene-regulating drugs including some aimed at combating eye disease.
The companies said they would work together on RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for a broad range of diseases by addressing disease targets expressed in the eye and central nervous system (CNS), in addition to a select number of targets expressed in the liver.
The collaboration will leverage both companies’ scientific and technological expertise and will build on Alnylam’s recent preclinical data showing potent and highly durable delivery of RNAi therapeutics to achieve target-gene silencing in the eye and CNS, the companies said.
“This new industry-leading alliance is aimed at realising what we believe to be a significant opportunity for RNAi therapeutics as potentially transformative medicines for ocular and CNS diseases. We are thrilled to collaborate with Regeneron, a like-minded science-based organisation, to significantly accelerate our efforts to bring RNAi therapeutics to patients,” said Alnylam’s CEO, Dr John Maraganore.
The companies said Regeneron would lead development and commercialisation for all programmes targeting eye diseases. “At Regeneron we believe the best use of our resources is to invest in potentially game-changing science that will yield innovative medicines for patients with serious diseases. This collaboration couples proven and emerging RNAi technology, which holds important promise in many diseases, with Regeneron’s world-leading genetics research and target discovery engine,” said Regeneron president. Dr George Yancopoulos.
