Medtronic, Alnylam to Collaborate on Neurodegenerative Treatments

Medtronic and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals will collaborate to pursue potential therapies designed to treat neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

The collaboration will focus on developing novel drug-device combinations incorporating RNAi therapeutics. RNAi, or RNA interference, refers to a technique for silencing targeted genes in a cell, inhibiting their ability to produce particular proteins involved in specific diseases. Initial development will focus on delivering RNAi therapeutics to specific areas of the brain using novel infusion systems.

Under terms of the collaboration agreement, after successful completion of an initial joint technology development program and a joint decision to initiate product development, Alnylam would be responsible for the discovery and early development of candidate RNAi therapeutics, and Medtronic would be responsible for late-stage development and commercialization of any drug-device products that result. Medtronic also would adapt or develop medical devices to deliver the candidate RNAi therapeutics to targeted locations in the nervous system.

()a href="http://www.fdanews.com/pub/ddl"