Alnylam and Tekmira restructure relationship and settle all litigation in $65 million deal

USA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ALNY) says it has restructured its relationship with Canadian developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: TKMR), with a new licensing agreement and resolution of all litigation between the parties in a settlement agreement. Under the deal, Tekmira will receive $65 million within 10 days and is eligible for a further $10 million in near-term milestone payments expected in 2013.

The new license agreement consolidates and clarifies certain intellectual property (IP) elements related to lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology for RNAi therapeutics. Furthermore, Alnylam has elected to independently manufacture its LNP-based RNAi therapeutic products and to buy-down certain future potential milestone payments and a significant portion of future potential royalties for its ALN-VSP, ALN-PCS, and ALN-TTR02 programs. The settlement of all ongoing litigation between the two companies allows Alnylam to continue to focus its efforts on advancing innovative medicines to patients, the US firm said.

Last year, Tekmira filed a complaint against Alnylam for misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and false advertising (The Pharma Letter March 21, 2011).