RNAi Litigation

Archive for March 18th, 2011

Tekmira, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, said the suit was filed in Massachusetts Superior Court in response to “misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and false advertising.”

Tekmira’s news release and also Alnylam’s response.

This lawsuit which was announced yesterday can be found here. We will follow this.

“The damages that Tekmira will be seeking are substantial,” the company said. “Among these damages, Tekmira believes it has rights to Alnylam’s pipeline products.”

A little history on the Tekmira/Alnylam relationship:

In March of 2007 Alnylam and Inex Pharmaceuticals formed an alliance in which Alnylam took a worldwide exclusive license to Inex’s lipid-based siRNA delivery formulations. This deal with Inex was in exchange for access to Alnylam’s IP for oligonucleotide drugs that act through immune stimulation (not RNAi drugs) as well as the right to develop three RNAi drugs based on Alnylam’s IP. In May of 2007 Inex became Tekmira and later coined the term SNALP (stable nucleic acid lipid particle) for their delivery system. SNALP essentially comprises a nucleic acid encapsulated by cationic and fusogenic lipids, all of which are surrounded by a polyethylene glycol coating. Today SNALP is considered one of the better siRNA delivery vehicles and the three-year partnership between Alnylam and Tekmira appears to be strong. [See Dirk Haussecker’s take on this lawsuit and discussion on the promise of SNALP and future prospects for Tekmira.]. Read the rest of this entry »