Alnylam and Medtronic Advance Collaboration on Drug-Device Combinations with RNAi Therapeutics for CNS Diseases
Collaboration Focuses on RNAi Therapeutic Program for Huntington's Disease
Medtronic, Inc. and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the companies are advancing their collaboration initiated in February, 2005, following positive pre-clinical data generated under the initial joint technology development phase of the program.
Under the terms of the agreement, Alnylam and Medtronic will focus on developing a drug-device combination for the treatment of Huntington's disease. The product is expected to consist of an RNAi therapeutic targeting the Huntington's disease gene that will be delivered by Medtronic's implantable infusion pump. In addition, the companies may jointly decide to collaborate on the development of similar drug-device combinations using Alnylam's RNAi therapeutics platform and Medtronic's implantable infusion pump for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.
The agreement has also been revised as a 50/50 relationship in the United States. Medtronic will commercialize the therapy consisting of the identified RNAi compound and advanced delivery devices. In the United States, Alnylam has the opportunity to invest in clinical development of this therapy through product launch. In Europe, Medtronic is solely responsible for development and commercialization.
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