Replies to post #2681 on Biotech Values

[King Stuki]

Dew wrote: "For GENR investors, the most significant aspect of this deal is that Merck has presumably been lost as a potential partner for Squalamine. Fortunately, there are still several big pharma who have yet to be spoken for in this disease."

Also " ALNY’s drug will be given by intravitreal injection, the same method of administration as Macugen and Lucentis. It is expected that ALNY’s drug will need to be given “no more frequently" than Macugen and Lucentis, which would seem to imply a monthly dosing schedule."

I wonder why Merck would choose to enter the race so late in this way, given the problems associated with monthly intravitreal injections.
Squalamine is more advanced in their testing with good results and avoids the injection problems.

Was GENR driving too hard a bargain or is there some other factor working here? My guess is GENR and Merck talked.
Makes me wonder.

Thanks for all,

Stuki

[DewDiligence]

Alnylam’s head of R&D leaves “to pursue other interests.”

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040719/nem032_1.html

This makes the second recent IPO, where the R&D chief departed almost immediately after the IPO. It also happened at MEMY.

[DewDiligence]

Alnylam, Merck tighten up AMD-related IP:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040803/netu052_1.html

[Source: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc]

>>
Hybridon Licenses Key VEGF Patents to Alnylam for Treatment of Ocular Diseases with RNAi Therapeutics

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., August 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY - News) and Hybridon, Inc. (Amex: HBY - News) today announced that they have entered into an agreement providing Alnylam with an exclusive license to Hybridon's rights to target Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) for ocular indications with RNA interference molecules (RNAi). Hybridon has a series of patents and patent applications relating to the therapeutic use of oligonucleotides, including antisense and RNA interference compounds, which inhibit the production of the protein VEGF. The VEGF protein has been implicated in cancer and macular degeneration. Hybridon received an upfront payment and is eligible for future milestone payments and royalties.

The licensing of this intellectual property extends Alnylam's strength in consolidating fundamental patents, technology and know-how for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics. At the same time, it continues to leverage Hybridon's broad patent estate in the oligonucleotide field by adding another partner with complementary technology to the growing list of collaborators and licensees.

"This additional intellectual property will accelerate and streamline our lead program, which we are pursuing in partnership with Merck, to develop a novel RNAi therapeutic targeted to treat age-related macular degeneration and other ocular diseases," said Vincent Miles, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Alnylam. "Adding this suite of patent rights to our current IP portfolio advances our leadership in the development of RNAi ocular therapeutics."

"We are pleased to enter into this licensing arrangement with Alnylam, to expand the use of our patent portfolio with one of the leaders in RNAi therapeutics," said Sudhir Agrawal, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Hybridon. "We view this license as additional validation of the broad coverage of our oligonucleotide patent portfolio and its applicability to the rapidly growing field of RNA interference. Independently, Hybridon continues to pursue the studies of antisense-based compounds targeting VEGF for ocular diseases."

About RNAi

RNA interference, or RNAi, is a naturally-occurring mechanism within cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes that is potentially the basis for a new class of therapeutic products. Since many diseases are caused by the inappropriate activity of specific genes, the ability to silence and regulate such genes selectively through RNAi could provide a means to treat a wide range of human diseases. The discovery of RNAi has been heralded by many as a major breakthrough, and the journal Science named RNAi the top scientific achievement of 2002 as well as one of the top ten scientific advances of 2003.
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