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TKMR response to ALN-PCS data

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tekmira-LNP-Technology-pz-3793348611.html?x=0

Tekmira's LNP Technology Enables Alnylam's Positive ALN-PCS Clinical Data

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 4, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq:TKMR - News) (TSX:TKM.TO - News), a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, today reported that Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented positive preliminary results from its ongoing clinical trial of ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia, which utilizes Tekmira's LNP technology.

"We are pleased that data from another human clinical trial demonstrates that Tekmira's LNP technology is well tolerated and enables RNAi activity, further highlighting Tekmira's leadership in the field of RNAi therapeutics," said Dr. Mark J. Murray, Tekmira's President and CEO.

Alnylam reported that ALN-PCS was safe and well tolerated and that ALN-PCS demonstrated statistically significant RNAi silencing of PCSK9 of up to 66% and reductions of up to over 50% in levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or "bad" cholesterol, a clinically validated endpoint.

"Following the recent approval of the IND for our TKM-Ebola product and the encouraging data from the ALN-TTR01 clinical trial, these new results from the ALN-PCS Phase I trial are consistent with our belief that the field of RNA interference has reached an inflection point: we can now refer to multiple clinical trials in varied clinical indications that are producing data that validates the safety, tolerability and clinical efficacy of RNAi therapeutics enabled by Tekmira's LNP technology," added Dr. Murray.

For more detailed information about the Phase I data for ALN-PCS, please refer to the Alnylam news release dated January 4, 2012 and the presentation of these data, which can be found on Alnylam's website at www.alnylam.com.

About RNAi and Tekmira's LNP Technology

RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat a broad number of human diseases by "silencing" disease causing genes. The discoverers of RNAi, a gene silencing mechanism used by all cells, were awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi therapeutics, such as "siRNA," require delivery technology to be effective systemically. Tekmira believes its LNP technology represents the most widely adopted delivery technology for the systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics. Tekmira's LNP platform is being utilized in multiple clinical trials by both Tekmira and its partners. Tekmira's LNP technology (formerly referred to as stable nucleic acid-lipid particles or SNALP) encapsulates siRNAs with high efficiency in uniform lipid nanoparticles that are effective in delivering RNAi therapeutics to disease sites in numerous preclinical models. Tekmira's LNP formulations are manufactured by a proprietary method which is robust, scalable and highly reproducible, and LNP-based products have been reviewed by multiple FDA divisions for use in clinical trials. LNP formulations comprise several lipid components that can be adjusted to suit the specific application.

About Tekmira

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing novel RNAi therapeutics and providing its leading lipid nanoparticle delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners. Tekmira has been working in the field of nucleic acid delivery for over a decade and has broad intellectual property covering LNPs. Further information about Tekmira can be found at www.tekmirapharm.com. Tekmira is based in Vancouver, B.C.

The Tekmira Pharmaceuticals logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8319