Alnylam expands RNAi IP estate in USA and Europe

US RNAi specialist Alnylam says that the European Patent Office has granted its previously-allowed Tuschl II patent, covering compositions, methods, and uses of small interfering RNAs, the molecules that mediate RNAi. In addition, the company says that the German Patent Office has awarded a new patent in the Kreutzer-Limmer I patent series broadly covering methods, uses, and medicaments for siRNAs with a length of 15 to 49 nucleotide pairs expressed via vectors.

"The scope of our intellectual property estate, which we believe is required for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, will only continue to expand as key Alnylam patents advance through the examination stages in patent offices around the world," said Barry Greene, the firm's chief operating officer.