Japan's Takeda targets Alnylam's RNAi drugs in potential $1B license deal

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. has struck a deal with Japanese drug maker Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. worth up to $1 billion, the companies report.

The deal gives Takeda the right to be the first company to negotiate development and commercialization agreements on Cambridge-based Alnylam's RNA-interference drugs for the Asian market (except for ALN-RSV01, an experimental treatment for respiratory syncytial virus) for five years. It also enables Alnylam (Nasdaq:ALNY) the option to be the U.S. commercial partner of Takeda-developed RNAi treatments.

RNAi drugs are designed to inhibit the expression of certain genes linked to diseases. Alnylam's leadership in the field has brought it other large deals with big drug companies such as Swiss pharma giant Roche Holding AG, which has research and development operations in Cambridge.

Content Continues Below

Takeda has agreed to pay Alnylam $100 million in initial fees and $50 million soon in technology-transfer and licensing payments to access Alnylam RNAi technology for the fields of oncology and metabolic diseases, and additional R&D and milestone sums could make the deal worth up to $1 billion to Alnylam, according to the companies. The firms also said that Takeda has the option to expand the deal into additional therapeutic areas for $50 million per field.

The deal comes a month and a half after Takeda announced that it would acquire Cambridge biotech firm Millennium Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a landmark deal valued at $8.8 billion, showing that Takeda is rapidly hitching its future in the oncology market to science and products at life sciences companies in Massachusetts. Takeda completed its buyout of Millennium earlier this month.

Alnylam reported a 2007 net loss of $85.5 million on revenue of $50.9 million. The company listed 129 employees as of March 2008.