Medtronic, Alnylam advance collaboration |
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Mon, 30 Jul 2007 16:06
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NEW YORK (AP) - Medical technology company Medtronic Inc. and biopharmaceutical company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Monday they are advancing their collaboration on a drug device for the treatment of Huntington's disease.Under the terms of the agreement, Alnylam and Medtronic will focus on developing a drug-device combination for the treatment of Huntington's, an inherited disorder characterized by abnormal body movements.The product is expected to consist of a so-called RNAi therapeutic, targeting the Huntington's disease gene, that will be delivered by Medtronic's implantable infusion pump. RNAi technology aims to silence genes at the root of a condition, therefore shutting down the disease.In addition, the companies said they may team up on the development of similar drug-device combinations using Alnylam's RNAi drug and Medtronic's implantable infusion pump for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.The companies said they were moving forward on the collaboration, initiated in February 2005, following positive preclinical data from the initial joint technology development phase of the program.The agreement also was revised as a 50/50 relationship in the United States. As part of the deal, Medtronic, based in Minneapolis, is solely responsible for development and commercialization in Europe.Shares of Medtronic rose 48 cents to $51.29 in morning trade.Shares of Alnylam, based in Cambridge, Mass., rose 27 cents to $24.68 in morning trade.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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