- Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (nasdaq|ALNY), a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and commercialization of therapeutic products based on
RNA interference (RNAi) in the United States. The company is developing a pipeline of RNAi products using Direct RNAi to treat ocular,central nervous system , and respiratory diseases; and Systemic RNAi to treat a range of diseases, includingoncology , metabolic, andautoimmune diseases . Its RNAi development programs are focused on an eye disease, known as age-relatedmacular degeneration ; and on a lung infection caused by a virus, known ashuman respiratory syncytial virus . The company also has multiple preclinical programs in Direct RNAi focused on a central nervous system disorder, known asParkinson's disease ;spinal cord injury; and a genetic disease, known ascystic fibrosis . In addition, Alnylam offers nontherapeutic license agreements to life science reagent and service providers. The company has strategic alliances and research collaborations withMerck & Co. , Inc.;Medtronic , Inc.;Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics , Inc.;Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research;Novartis AG; andMayo Clinic Jacksonville. Alnylam was founded byPhillip Sharp ,Paul Schimmel ,David Bartel ,Thomas Tuschl , andPhillip Zamore in 2002. The company is headquartered inCambridge, Massachusetts .The meaning of the company name, Alnylam
According to the company website their name is a variant of the name of a star in the
constellation Orion. The name of the center star of Orion's Belt isAlnilam .External links
* [http://www.alnylam.com/ Official website]
* [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121187852128322413.html?mod=us_business_whats_news Wall Street Journal on Alnylam's May 2008 alliance with Takeda Pharmaceutical]
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