Alnylam, Isis Pharmaceuticals, Tekmira drug delivery news

Tekmira filed a motion to dismiss for lack of standing five out of six claims in a patent infringement suit filed by Alnylam and Isis in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts related to patents covering Alnylam's siRNA and lipid nanoparticle drug delivery technologies. In the suit, Alnylam said that by providing lipid nanoparticle-formulated siRNA molecules to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE:BMY, New York, N.Y.) under a 2010 deal, Tekmira infringed U.S. Patent Nos. 7,695,902, 6,858,225, 6,815,432, 6,534,484, 6,586,410 and 6,858,224. Tekmira said the five latter patents in the suit are owned by Tekmira and licensed to Alnylam. In its motion to dismiss, Tekmira argues that the language of the associated license only grants Alnylam the right to enforce Tekmira's patents against third parties, and therefore Alnylam does not have the right to bring the five infringement claims against Tekmira. Tekmira is not seeking to dismiss the claim regarding the '902 patent. Alnylam and Isis are seeking an injunction preventing Tekmira from commercializing its products prior to the expiration of the patents, as well as damages (see BioCentury, May 17, 2010 & Jan. 23, 2012).

As a result of a 2004 deal under which Alnylam received rights to IP covering RNAi, Isis is eligible for portions of Alnylam's milestones and royalties from a 2008 deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4502, Osaka, Japan) to develop and commercialize RNAi therapeutics to treat cancer and metabolic diseases (see BioCentury, March 15, 2004 & June 2, 2008). ...