Alnylam and Tenaya Launch $1.23B Cardiovascular Discovery Deal with $10M Upfront
Alnylam has agreed a $1.23bn discovery collaboration with Tenaya to identify up to 15 cardiovascular genetic targets, paying $10m upfront and up to $1.13bn in milestones. The two-year partnership includes joint in vitro and in vivo validation, with Alnylam funding costs and handling subsequent drug development and commercialization.
1. Deal Structure
Alnylam will pay Tenaya a $10m upfront fee and up to $1.13bn in development and commercial milestone payments for discovery of up to 15 novel genetic targets implicated in heart disease, bringing the total potential deal value to $1.23bn.
2. Validation and Responsibilities
Tenaya has two years to identify and validate targets through in vitro and in vivo studies; candidates failing to meet Alnylam’s criteria may reduce the upfront fee by $500k each, capped at eight underperforming targets.
3. Financial Commitments
Beyond the upfront and milestone payments, Alnylam will reimburse Tenaya for full-time employee costs and out-of-pocket expenses incurred during the discovery and validation phases.
4. Strategic Implications
This collaboration strengthens Alnylam’s cardiovascular pipeline, leveraging its recent siRNA approvals and late-stage trials to expand into disease-modifying therapies for heart disease, with Alnylam assuming all further development and commercialization duties.