Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has signed on to a $93 million pact with Japan's Kyowa Hakko Kogyo to develop an Respiratory Syncytial Virus therapy for Asian markets. Alnylam gets $15 million of that up front with a lineup of $78 million in milestones. Alnylam will also get double-digit royalties from Kyowa Hakko based on the sales of ALN-RSV01 in Asia. The partnership also includes additional RSV-specific RNAi therapeutic compounds that comprise the ALN-RSV program. Alnylam retains all development and commercialization rights worldwide excluding Asia.
"This new collaboration is yet another example of Alnylam's commitment to work with leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies to advance RNAi therapeutics to patients on a global basis," said Alnylam CEO John Maraganore. This is Alnylam's second deal with a Japanese pharma company in a matter of weeks.
- see Alnylam's release
- read the report from the Boston Globe