Alnylam licenses IP to Calando for cancer drug

RNAi therapeutics specialist Alnylam has granted fellow USA-based Calando Pharmaceuticals a license under its InterfeRx program to develop and commercialize a synthetic siRNA, combined with Calando's proprietary delivery technology, towards an undisclosed cancer target.

As part of the deal, Calando also has an option to acquire an InterfeRx license for a second target gene. Detailed financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but include upfront, annual and milestone payments, as well as royalties on sales of any eventual products. California-based Calando is the seventh licensee of Alnylam patents and the fourth company to participate in its InterfeRx program, a licensing platform for Alnylam's intellectual property portfolio for RNAi collaborations outside of its core strategic interests. Last year, Nastech bought an InterfeRx license to develop an RNAi drug against the inflammatory protein TNF-alpha (Marketletter August 1, 2005).

Calando, which is a majority-owned subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Arrowhead Research Corp, is focused on designing, developing and commercializing RNAi therapeutics for serious conditions, such as cancer, by combining effective siRNAs with its patented and proprietary delivery technologies to achieve systemic RNAi administration.