Alnylam to Collaborate with US Army on RNAi Therapeutics for Biodefense Threats
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Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).
Under the agreement, Alnylam will collaborate with USAMRIID to discover RNAi therapeutics targeting viral organisms, including hemorrhagic fever viruses, which pose a serious biological threat to the military and public health of the United States.
"USAMRIID is actively seeking promising technologies to protect our armed forces, and we believe Alnylam's RNAi therapeutic platform enables the rapid discovery and development of anti-virals designed to be broad in scope that can be stockpiled as a national safeguard against biodefense threats," said John Maraganore, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
"Our clinical experience with an RNAi therapeutic to treat respiratory syncytial virus, our program with collaborators for an RNAi therapeutic against pandemic flu, and our recent breakthroughs published in Nature relating to systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics in a non-human primate model establish a solid foundation for our efforts with USAMRIID, an organization which is uniquely positioned to collaborate in translational research for Biosafety Level 4 threats," continued Dr. Maraganore.
"The CRADA with USAMRIID extends our collaboration with the public sector initiated last year with our cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense's DARPA."
