Alnylam Pharmaceuticals isn't just about new therapeutics anymore. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech ($ALNY) today announced that it had signed on with Monsanto as a strategic partner in the agricultural bioscience business, putting its gene silencing RNAi technology to work for the multinational operation.
In exchange for $29.2 million upfront and unspecified milestones Monsanto gains exclusive rights to use the technology in its work on agricultural biologics.
"We believe biological products have great promise in agriculture and we are excited to be collaborating with Alnylam in this area," said Tom Adams, the vice president of chemical technology at Monsanto.
Monsanto has been developing expertise in genomics to go to work on new biopesticides, a $1.7 billion market for weed, insect and virus control. And it sees a place for Alnylam's RNAi tech in that new segment of its business.
The deal represents a fresh way for Alnylam to add some quick income as it works on its own plan to push 5 products into the clinic by 2015. The company has been marching ahead on the deal-making front recently after Big Pharma's appetite for RNAi diminished in recent years. Regulus, a microRNA company spun off by Alnylam and Isis, recently inked a deal with AstraZeneca. Alnylam has also kept investors excited with early-stage results that continue to underscore the long-term promise of the field.
- here's the press release
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