Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Tuesday it licensed two genes to Quark Biotech Inc., which turned around and licensed one to drugmaker Pfizer Inc. to develop a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration.
Alnylam licensed the genes p53 and RTP801 to Quark for an undisclosed amount. The agreement includes upfront, annual, and milestone payments, along with royalties on any product that makes it to market. The licenses cover RNAi, or RNA interference therapeutics, or drugs that use a naturally occurring mechanism in cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes.
Quark said it granted an exclusive worldwide license to Pfizer to develop the RTP-801 gene as a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration. Financial details were not disclosed.
Wet AMD is a condition where abnormal blood vessels grow over the retina and leak, causing scar tissue and destroying a person's central field of vision. The Federal Trade Commission still needs to approve the deal.
Pfizer already has a partnership with OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the FDA-approved wet AMD treatment Macugen. Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said that the RTP801 gene is still in very early preclinical development and that the company could not comment on what a resulting drug's possible profile might be.
A competing drug to Macugen, Genentech Inc.'s Lucentis, received FDA-approval in June.
The p53 gene is likely to be developed for the treatment of kidney disease.
Alnylam shares added 45 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $14.09, while OSI shares rose 9 cents to $37.21 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Shares of Pfizer were down 1 cent to $28.34 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Alnylam licensed the genes p53 and RTP801 to Quark for an undisclosed amount. The agreement includes upfront, annual, and milestone payments, along with royalties on any product that makes it to market. The licenses cover RNAi, or RNA interference therapeutics, or drugs that use a naturally occurring mechanism in cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes.
Quark said it granted an exclusive worldwide license to Pfizer to develop the RTP-801 gene as a treatment for wet age-related macular degeneration. Financial details were not disclosed.
Wet AMD is a condition where abnormal blood vessels grow over the retina and leak, causing scar tissue and destroying a person's central field of vision. The Federal Trade Commission still needs to approve the deal.
Pfizer already has a partnership with OSI Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the FDA-approved wet AMD treatment Macugen. Pfizer spokesman Paul Fitzhenry said that the RTP801 gene is still in very early preclinical development and that the company could not comment on what a resulting drug's possible profile might be.
A competing drug to Macugen, Genentech Inc.'s Lucentis, received FDA-approval in June.
The p53 gene is likely to be developed for the treatment of kidney disease.
Alnylam shares added 45 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $14.09, while OSI shares rose 9 cents to $37.21 in morning trading on the Nasdaq. Shares of Pfizer were down 1 cent to $28.34 on the New York Stock Exchange.
posted by doublezero at
7:57 AM
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