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Alnylam and Merck Scuttle $120M-Plus RNAi Drug-Development Partnership

Sep 19, 2007
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) — Alnylam and Merck today said they have ended an ongoing RNAi drug-development alliance, and Alnylam has rescinded its IP grants related to any Merck development programs.
 
The deal was worth more than $120 million to Alnylam and ended on a mutually agreed upon note. The companies did not elaborate.
 
"It is fundamentally in our best interests to terminate our Merck collaboration," said Alnylam CEO John Maraganore. "We wish our colleagues at Merck the best of luck in their efforts.”
 
The scuttled agreement comprised two deals the firms consolidated in July 2006, and that focused on nine therapeutic targets. The amended deal also offered Alnylam accelerated funding.
  
The 2006 agreement offered Alnylam more than $120 million in milestones and royalties from products developed and commercialized from the programs, and gave Alnylam the opportunity to co-promote RNAi therapeutic products in the US.

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