Max Planck seals research deal with Alnylam

Research agreement

The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany, has sealed a research agreement with the RNA interference specialist Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc, in which it will investigate and characterise the molecular mechanisms underlying intracellular transport of small-interfering RNA, (siRNA).

Alnylam’s scientists will work with Marino Zerial of Max Planck. He and his team are recognised in the intracellular trafficking field and have expertise and capabilities to investigate cellular uptake pathways in a robust and high-throughput manner.

Alnylam will have an option on any intellectual property that results from the agreement.

“[The] collaboration with Professor Zerial and his team is representative of the collaborations we have and will continue to form as we seek to increase our understanding of the underlying mechanism of cellular delivery of RNAi therapeutics,” said Victor Kotelianski, Vice President for Research at Alnylam of Cambridge, Massachusetts. “This agreement complements our existing delivery collaborations and will provide deep insights into the cellular uptake of siRNAs and the pathways by which they function.”

Zerial said the research pact will increase understanding of how siRNAs are taken up into the cell cytoplasm, where they act to silence disease-causing genes. “Through this collaboration, we will increase our understanding of how different siRNA formulations are internalised within cells and then use this knowledge to further optimise approaches for delivery of RNAi therapeutics.”