CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced that it will break ground today on a state-of-the-art biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Norton, Massachusetts. The facility will supply RNAi therapeutics for Alnylam’s clinical and commercial needs. The location, selected in close collaboration with Commonwealth and local officials, demonstrates Alnylam’s ongoing commitment to Massachusetts. Construction on the 200,000 square foot manufacturing facility is expected to complete in 2018 and it will initially employ approximately 150 new full-time employees.
“This flagship multi-product facility represents a key next step in Alnylam’s transition toward a commercial stage company. Increased manufacturing capability is vital to support our rapidly growing pipeline of ten clinical stage programs, two of which are in Phase 3 trials,” said John Maraganore, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam. “The Massachusetts talent pool, along with strong support from state and local partners in the Baker Administration, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and the Town of Norton were critical to our ultimate decision to establish this manufacturing facility in Norton, MA.”
Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony are Charlie Baker, the Governor of Massachusetts, Kimberly Haugstad, Executive Director of the Hemophilia Federation of America, Travis McCready, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and Lisa Nelson, Senior District Representative to U.S. Congressman Joseph Kennedy III.
“Alnylam’s decision to locate their biopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Massachusetts speaks to our Commonwealth’s success in supporting an innovative economic environment and talented workforce,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “We are excited about Alnylam’s choice and congratulate them as they continue to grow and advance investigational new medicines in the Commonwealth’s life sciences sector, creating new jobs and patient treatments.”
"The development of Alnylam’s manufacturing facility in Norton is further evidence that the State of Massachusetts can support the needs of integrated biotechnology companies such as Alnylam, through the entire biopharmaceutical life cycle, from discovery to development to manufacturing to sales and marketing,” said Travis McCready, President and Chief Executive Officer, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.
“The Hemophilia Federation of America is dedicated to serving the needs of patients and families affected by hemophilia and other rare bleeding disorders,” said Kimberly Haugstad, Executive Director of the Hemophilia Federation of America. “With the development of this manufacturing facility, Alnylam demonstrates its commitment and responsibility to the patient community as it strives to provide innovative new treatment options.”
About RNAi
RNAi (RNA interference) is a revolution in
biology, representing a breakthrough in understanding how genes are
turned on and off in cells, and a completely new approach to drug
discovery and development. Its discovery has been heralded as "a major
scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or so," and
represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing frontiers in
biology and drug discovery today which was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize
for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi is a natural process of gene silencing
that occurs in organisms ranging from plants to mammals. By harnessing
the natural biological process of RNAi occurring in our cells, the
creation of a major new class of medicines, known as RNAi therapeutics,
is on the horizon. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), the molecules that
mediate RNAi and comprise Alnylam's RNAi therapeutic platform, target
the cause of diseases by potently silencing specific mRNAs, thereby
preventing disease-causing proteins from being made. RNAi therapeutics
have the potential to treat disease and help patients in a fundamentally
new way.
About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical
company developing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or
RNAi. The company is leading the translation of RNAi as a new class of
innovative medicines. Alnylam's pipeline of investigational RNAi
therapeutics is focused in 3 Strategic Therapeutic Areas (STArs):
Genetic Medicines, with a broad pipeline of RNAi therapeutics for the
treatment of rare diseases; Cardio-Metabolic Disease, with a pipeline of
RNAi therapeutics toward genetically validated, liver-expressed disease
targets for unmet needs in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases; and
Hepatic Infectious Disease, with a pipeline of RNAi therapeutics that
address the major global health challenges of hepatic infectious
diseases. In early 2015, Alnylam launched its "Alnylam 2020" guidance
for the advancement and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics as a
whole new class of innovative medicines. Specifically, by the end of
2020, Alnylam expects to achieve a company profile with 3 marketed
products, 10 RNAi therapeutic clinical programs - including 4 in late
stages of development - across its 3 STArs. The company's demonstrated
commitment to RNAi therapeutics has enabled it to form major alliances
with leading companies including Ionis, Novartis, Roche, Takeda, Merck,
Monsanto, The Medicines Company, and Sanofi Genzyme. In addition,
Alnylam holds an equity position in Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a company
focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of microRNA
therapeutics. Alnylam scientists and collaborators have published their
research on RNAi therapeutics in over 200 peer-reviewed papers,
including many in the world's top scientific journals such as Nature,
Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Cell, New England Journal of
Medicine, and The Lancet. Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains
headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information about
Alnylam's pipeline of investigational RNAi therapeutics, please visit www.alnylam.com.
Alnylam Forward Looking Statements
Various statements in
this release concerning Alnylam's future expectations, plans and
prospects, including without limitation, Alnylam's views with respect to
the potential for RNAi therapeutics, its expectations regarding its
pipeline growth strategy, and its plans regarding commercialization of
RNAi therapeutics, construction of a manufacturing facility and the
hiring of employees to work in that facility constitute forward-looking
statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking
statements as a result of various important factors, including, without
limitation, Alnylam's ability to discover and develop novel drug
candidates and delivery approaches, successfully demonstrate the
efficacy and safety of its drug candidates, the pre-clinical and
clinical results for its product candidates, which may not be replicated
or continue to occur in other subjects or in additional studies or
otherwise support further development of product candidates, actions of
regulatory agencies, which may affect the initiation, timing and
progress of clinical trials, obtaining, maintaining and protecting
intellectual property, Alnylam's ability to enforce its patents against
infringers and defend its patent portfolio against challenges from third
parties, obtaining regulatory approval for products, competition from
others using technology similar to Alnylam's and others developing
products for similar uses, Alnylam's ability to manage operating
expenses, Alnylam's ability to obtain additional funding to support its
business activities and establish and maintain strategic business
alliances and new business initiatives, Alnylam's dependence on third
parties for development, manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution
of products, the outcome of litigation, and unexpected expenditures, as
well as those risks more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors" filed
with Alnylam's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that
Alnylam makes with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements
represent Alnylam's views only as of today and should not be relied upon
as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Alnylam explicitly
disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
