Alnylam/Takeda RNAi collaboration selected as “Deal of the Year”

Last May's agreement between Alnylam and Takeda on a non-exclusive RNA interference platform collaboration focused on oncology and metabolic disease wins in In Vivo Blog's first annual "Deals of the Year" competition. Out of 13 deal candidates, the Alnylam/Takeda tie-up led the voting from start to finish, garnering 35 percent of the votes. The collaboration brought Alnylam $150 million upfront, allowing it to finish the year with about $500 million in cash without restricting its own business prospects or diluting its stock, while also making Takeda Japan's only major player in the RNAi space (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, May 27, 2008). In an acceptance speech posted at In Vivo Blog, Alnylam thanked many, including "small molecules and antibodies for giving us undruggable targets" (2In Vivo Blog, Jan. 7, 2009)