Alnylam forms Asian alliance

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge said today it has formed an exclusive alliance with a Japanese company to develop a treatment of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, or RSV, infection for Asian markets.

Alnylam said it will work with Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co. Ltd. to develop and commercialize ALN-RSV01, an RNAi therapeutic in Phase II clinical development by Alnylam, for the treatment of RSV infection in Japan and other major markets in Asia, the companies said in a press release.

"Under the terms of the collaboration, Kyowa Hakko will pay Alnylam $15 million in an upfront cash payment and up to an additional $78 million in development and sales milestone payments," the companies said. "Upon commercialization, Alnylam will receive double-digit royalties from Kyowa Hakko based on the sales of ALN-RSV01 in this territory."

Just a few weeks ago, Alnylam said it inked a drug-licensing partnership with Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. of Japan worth at least $150 million; the deal could be potentially worth as much as $1 billion to Alnylam depending on how successful the companies are in developing and marketing new treatments.

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(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)