Alnylam and Benitec Form Alliance on Fundamental Intellectual Property for RNAi Therapeutics
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Benitec Ltd. announced a licensing agreement covering fundamental intellectual property (IP) in the field of RNA interference (RNAi). Under the agreement, Alnylam will provide Benitec and its licensees an option to non-exclusively license Alnylam-controlled IP in the field of expressed RNAi: targeted gene silencing mediated by short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) generated from DNA constructs introduced into cells. Upon Benitec's exercise of this option, Alnylam would receive license fees and be entitled to receive milestone payments and royalties on any expressed RNAi products developed by Benitec or its licensees. Under the agreement, Benitec also provides Alnylam with reciprocal options under reciprocal terms to non-exclusively license Benitec IP for expressed RNAi and synthetic siRNAs.
In addition, Alnylam will provide Benitec with options to take up to five InterfeRx(TM) exclusive licenses to pursue synthetic RNAi therapeutics against mutually agreed, specific targets. The InterfeRx program was instituted by Alnylam to grant licenses for RNAi therapeutics against targets that fall outside Alnylam's core strategic interests. Upon the exercise of each granted InterfeRx option, Alnylam will receive license fees and be entitled to receive milestone payments and royalties on synthetic RNAi therapeutics developed by Benitec.
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