Tekmira Nabs $50M RNAi Deal
Luke Timmerman5/11/09
Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, the Vancouver, BC developer of RNA interference drug delivery technology, said it it will receive $18.4 million in upfront cash under a partnership with Swiss healthcare giant Roche. Tekmira’s lipid-nanoparticle technology to keep RNAi drugs stable in the blood, which is also licensed to Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, will be used on Roche’s first two products of this class. Tekmira is also eligible to get $32 million in milestone payments from Roche if the products achieve development goals.
Luke Timmerman is the National Biotech Editor of Xconomy, and the Editor of Xconomy Seattle. E-mail him at ltimmerman@xconomy.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ldtimmerman.
