Alnylam restructuring
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ALNY) said it will restructure and reduce headcount by 61 (35%) to 115 following a decision this month to partner three of the five RNAi therapeutic programs it is hoping to move into advanced clinical development by 2015 as part of its "Alnylam 5x15 strategy." Alnylam will focus internal development on ALN-TTR and ALN-APC, while seeking partners for ALN-PCS, ALN-HPN and ALN-TMP prior to further development. Alnylam said the cuts, which will affect all areas, are expected to save about $20 million in 2012 (see BioCentury, Jan. 17, 2011).
The TTR program is in development for transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis and includes ALN-TTR02, which is slated to start Phase I testing this half, with data expected in 3Q12. The compound is an RNAi therapeutic targeting the transthyretin (TTR) gene that uses internally developed second-generation lipid nanoparticles. ALN-APC, an RNAi therapeutic targeting protein C mRNA, is slated to start Phase I testing to treat hemophilia in 1H13. ...