Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi
therapeutics company, announced today that the Japanese Patent Office
has granted claims in a second patent application (JP Application Number
2006-317758) for the Tuschl II patent series, entitled "RNA Interference
Mediating Small RNA Molecules." In May 2008, the Japanese Patent Office
granted a related set of claims in the Tuschl II patent series (JP 4 095
895). The Tuschl II patent series provides broad exclusivity for small
interfering RNAs (siRNAs), the molecules that mediate RNAi, in the
world's top pharmaceutical markets, which include the U.S. (U.S. Patent
Nos. 7,056,704 and 7,078,196), the European Union (EP 1407044), China
(01820900.9), and Japan. The Tuschl II patent is exclusively licensed to
Alnylam for RNAi therapeutics on a worldwide basis through an agreement
with Max Planck Innovation GmbH, the licensing agent for the Max Planck
Society.
“The successful worldwide
examination of the Tuschl II patent series highlights that this
invention is seminal for RNAi, demonstrating the importance of the work
performed by Professor Tuschl and other co-inventors at the Max Planck
Institute.”
"We are very pleased with the grant of this second Tuschl II patent
application in Japan, which continues to further extend Alnylam's
leadership on intellectual property for RNAi therapeutics," said Barry
Greene, President and Chief Operating Officer of Alnylam. "The grant of
this new patent broadens the scope of our fundamental patent and patent
applications, including those related to the Crooke, Kreutzer-Limmer,
Glover, Tuschl I, and Tuschl II patent series. Further, we continue to
expect that several additional patents owned or licensed exclusively to
Alnylam will be awarded, continuing to extend the breadth of our patent
portfolio for all RNAi therapeutics."
"We are gratified that the Japanese Patent Office has decided to grant
these new claims from Tuschl II," said Dr. Joern Erselius, Managing
Director, Max Planck-Innovation GmbH. "The successful worldwide
examination of the Tuschl II patent series highlights that this
invention is seminal for RNAi, demonstrating the importance of the work
performed by Professor Tuschl and other co-inventors at the Max Planck
Institute."