ALNY Alnylam up 65% on Roche License Deal.
AP
Alnylam Licenses Technology to Roche
Monday July 9, 7:45 am ET
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Licensing Gene-Silencing Technology to Roche for Potential $1 Billion
NEW YORK (AP) -- Drug developer Roche took a step into the field of gene-silencing technology Monday by licensing rights from biotechnology company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a deal potentially worth up to $1 billion.
Alnylam focuses on the budding field of RNAi therapeutics, which aims to pinpoint the gene at the root of a condition or disease and silence it, thereby switching off the condition.
Its discoverers, professors Craig Mello and Andrew Z. Fire, shared the Nobel Prize for medicine last year. Other heavyweight drug developers have moved toward RNAi research and development, with Merck & Co. paying $1.1 billion for RNAi therapeutics developer Sirna Therapeutics Inc.
Under the agreement, Alnylam will give Roche a non-exclusive license to its technology. Roche will pay $331 million in upfront fees, including making an investment in just under 2 million shares of Alnylam stock, representing just under 5 percent of the shares outstanding.
Roche is also buying Alnylam's European research site in Kulmbach, Germany, with about 40 employees. The companies did not release the purchase price.
Research and development will initially cover cancer, respiratory diseases, metabolic diseases and liver diseases. The $1 billion potential includes several other possible future payments to Alnylam for product milestones and other items. There are also potential royalties on future product sales.
Alnylam retains the right to license its technology to other companies. The deal is expected to close in 30 days.
Shares of Alnylam surged $7.65, or 50 percent, in premarket trading to $22.85. The stock closed Friday at $15.20.
Questions or comments about this story should be directed to Damian J. Troise at 212-621-7190. |
