Alnylam and Ascletis collaborate to develop ALN-VSP for liver cancers in China

US RNAi therapeutics specialties Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALNY) and Ascletis Pharmaceuticals, a privately held US-China joint venture pharmaceutical company, have formed a strategic collaboration for the development of ALN-VSP, a first-in-class, systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of liver cancers including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a significant area of unmet need in China.

This collaboration provides Ascletis with the exclusive rights to develop and commercialize ALN-VSP in China including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Alnylam will retain all rights in the rest of the world, and is eligible to receive milestones and royalties based on product sales.  Financial terms of the accord were not revealed.

Given that ALN-VSP eventually come comes to market, it would compete with drugs such as Bayer and Onyx Pharma’s Nexavar (sorafenib) in the liver cancer drug market. Nexavar was approved in the USA in 2006 and in the European Union in 2007, and generated sales of 725 million euros ($892 million) for the German drug major last year.

“We believe Ascletis has the appropriate expertise in place to advance ALN-VSP through that region’s clinical and regulatory system. As an organization, they aim to develop first-in-class medicines for the Chinese market and, given the encouraging clinical data seen to date with ALN-VSP, this represents a unique opportunity for them to make a significant impact,” said Laurence Reid, senior vice president and chief business officer of Alnylam. “With this collaboration, we are able to develop ALN-VSP globally through the product’s advancement in a region where HCC is a particular challenge. As we retain all rights in the rest of the world, this partnering strategy provides multiple future opportunities for Alnylam to advance this novel therapeutic in other markets,” he added.