ZUG, Switzerland & ANKARA, Turkey–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Mar. 25, 2020– Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, and Gen, a GMP-certified pharmaceutical company specializing in rare diseases, today announced an exclusive Distribution Agreement for a first-in-class RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis in adults with Stage 1 or Stage 2 polyneuropathy.
“Our partnership with GEN enables us to reach patients suffering from hereditary ATTR (hATTR) amyloidosis with polyneuropathy in Turkey where we currently don’t have a presence,” said Brendan Martin, Vice President and Acting Head of Canada, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. “There are a significant number of patients in Turkey who urgently need new treatment options and we are delighted to partner with GEN to bring the necessary treatments to those in need.”
Abidin Gülmüs, CEO of GEN stated: “We are proud of our reputation as one of Turkey’s leading specialty pharmaceutical companies and are excited to have partnered with Alnylam. Through collaborations with leading international companies, we aim to bring innovative medicines to patients in Turkey in the fastest and most reliable way possible.”
About RNAi
RNAi (RNA interference) is a natural cellular process of gene silencing that represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing frontiers in biology and drug development today. Its discovery has been heralded as “a major scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or so,” and was recognized with the award of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. By harnessing the natural biological process of RNAi occurring in our cells, a new class of medicines, known as RNAi therapeutics, is now a reality. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), the molecules that mediate RNAi and comprise Alnylam’s RNAi therapeutic platform, function upstream of today’s medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA (mRNA) – the genetic precursors – that encode for disease-causing proteins, thus preventing them from being made. This is a revolutionary approach with the potential to transform the care of patients with genetic and other diseases.
About Alnylam
Alnylam (Nasdaq: ALNY) is leading the translation of RNA interference (RNAi) into a whole new class of innovative medicines with the potential to transform the lives of people afflicted with rare genetic, cardio-metabolic, hepatic infectious, and central nervous system (CNS)/ocular diseases. Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, RNAi therapeutics represent a powerful, clinically validated approach for the treatment of a wide range of severe and debilitating diseases. Founded in 2002, Alnylam is delivering on a bold vision to turn scientific possibility into reality, with a robust RNAi therapeutics platform. Alnylam has a deep pipeline of investigational medicines, including five product candidates that are in late-stage development. Alnylam is executing on its “Alnylam 2020” strategy of building a multi-product, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a sustainable pipeline of RNAi-based medicines to address the needs of patients who have limited or inadequate treatment options. Alnylam is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
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