Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi
therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated a Phase IIb
trial in adult lung transplant patients with ALN-RSV01, an RNAi
therapeutic for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
infection. RSV infection in lung transplant patients represents an
important unmet medical need; the condition is associated with
significant morbidity, including the development of acute lung
transplant rejection in 10% to 20% of infected patients. Lung transplant
patients infected with RSV are also at risk for an increase in frequency
of new or progressive bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a
life-threatening complication representing an irreversible disease of
the transplanted lung resulting in approximately 50% mortality within
three to five years of onset.
"RSV is a major infectious disease in both adult and pediatric
populations and there are no effective treatments used widely today. It
is an especially dangerous infection in immuno-suppressed patients, such
as lung transplant patients,” said Akshay Vaishnaw, M.D., Ph.D., Senior
Vice President, Clinical Research at Alnylam. "Alnylam’s new Phase IIb
study aims to repeat and extend the results we saw in our previous Phase
IIa study in the same patient population. In that small study, treatment
with ALN-RSV01 fulfilled the primary study objective of safety and
tolerability, and showed preliminary evidence for improved recovery of
lung function and a statistically significant reduction in the incidence
of new or progressive BOS.”
The Phase IIb trial is a multi-center, global, randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled study in RSV-infected lung transplant patients with a
primary endpoint of a reduction in incidence of new or progressive BOS.
Secondary endpoints include assessments for safety and additional
measurements of efficacy, including: anti-viral activity; recovery of
lung function, as monitored by the proportion of patients with forced
expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), of greater than 80% of
their pre-infection baseline value; and, improvement in RSV symptoms as
measured by mean cumulative daily total symptom score. The trial is
expected to enroll 76 patients who will be randomized in a one to one,
drug to placebo ratio. All patients will receive standard of care, and
those receiving ALN-RSV01 will have drug administered as a 0.6 mg/kg
dose by inhalation using an investigational eFlow Nebulizer System (PARI
Pharma) once daily for five days.
"RSV infection represents a significant risk for lung transplant
patients, and pulmonologists are clearly in need of an effective RSV
therapy in this critical disease area. Morbidities associated with RSV
infection in this setting are significant due to the potential for acute
and chronic lung rejection and other complications,” said Professor
Allan R. Glanville, Director of Thoracic Medicine and Medical Director
Lung Transplantation, St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. "I am encouraged
by the potential for ALN-RSV01 to treat RSV infection, and I look
forward to working with Alnylam in developing this RNAi therapeutic for
the treatment of RSV infection in lung transplant patients.”
Results from previous pre-clinical and clinical studies with ALN-RSV01
have documented the drug’s safety profile and anti-viral activity. In
2009, Alnylam completed a Phase IIa study of ALN-RSV01 in RSV-infected
adult lung transplant patients. In this small study of 24 patients,
ALN-RSV01 was safe and well tolerated, which was the primary study
objective. Interpretation of secondary study objectives, including
anti-viral activity, was confounded by certain imbalances, for example
baseline viral loads, that occurred by chance. By day 14, there was a
greater reduction in cumulative symptoms scores in the ALN-RSV01 group.
At the 90 day endpoint, ALN-RSV01 treatment was associated with evidence
for improved recovery of lung function and a statistically significant
reduction in the incidence of new or progressive BOS. In 2008, the
anti-viral activity of ALN-RSV01 was demonstrated in the company’s Phase
II GEMINI study, which was a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled study of intranasal ALN-RSV01 in 88 adult volunteers
experimentally infected with RSV. In this study, ALN-RSV01 treatment was
associated with a statistically significant decrease in the incidence of
RSV infection as compared with placebo. Finally, pre-clinical studies
have documented the anti-viral activity of ALN-RSV01 in rodent models
(Alvarez et al., Antimicrob Agents Chemother.
53(9):3952-62, 2009).
The ALN-RSV program is partnered with Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. in
Asia, and Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc. worldwide except Asia. In
parallel with Alnylam’s development of ALN-RSV01 for the treatment of
RSV in lung transplant patients, Alnylam and Cubist are developing a
second-generation compound, ALN-RSV02, which will be focused on the
pediatric patient population. Cubist will take the lead in advancing
ALN-RSV02 in the pediatric setting in continued collaboration and 50-50
funding with Alnylam, and Cubist retains an opt-in right for ALN-RSV01
in the adult transplant indication.
About RNA Interference (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 RNAs (siRNAs), 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 applying its
therapeutic expertise in RNAi to address significant medical needs, many
of which cannot effectively be addressed with small molecules or
antibodies, the current major classes of drugs. Alnylam is leading the
translation of RNAi as a new class of innovative medicines with
peer-reviewed research efforts published in the world’s top scientific
journals including Nature, Nature Medicine, and Cell.
The company is leveraging these capabilities to build a broad pipeline
of RNAi therapeutics; its most advanced program is in Phase II human
clinical trials for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
infection. In addition, the company is developing RNAi therapeutics for
the treatment of a wide range of disease areas, including liver cancers,
TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR), hypercholesterolemia, and Huntington’s
disease. The company’s leadership position in fundamental patents,
technology, and know-how relating to RNAi has enabled it to form major
alliances with leading companies including Medtronic, Novartis, Biogen
Idec, Roche, Takeda, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, and Cubist. Alnylam and Isis are
joint owners of Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a company focused on the
discovery, development, and commercialization of microRNA-based
therapeutics. Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains headquarters in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.alnylam.com.
Alnylam Forward-Looking Statement
Various statements in this release concerning Alnylam’s future
expectations, plans and prospects including without limitation
statements concerning the timing and scope of clinical trials and
studies, the need for novel RSV therapeutics, and its views with respect
to the potential for RNAi therapeutics, including ALN-RSV01, 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 risks related to: the difficulty drawing conclusions from the
small sample size of patients in the Phase IIa study described in this
press release; the difficulty drawing conclusions in light of the
confounding differences in certain baseline characteristics between
those patients taking ALN-RSV01 and those patients taking placebo in the
Phase IIa study; the possibility that ALN-RSV01 may not demonstrate the
same results in the Phase IIb study as it did in the Phase IIa study;
Alnylam’s approach to discover and develop novel drugs, which is
unproven and may never lead to marketable products, including ALN-RSV01
or any successor product thereto; obtaining, maintaining, and protecting
intellectual property; obtaining regulatory approval for the clinical
development and commercialization of products in different
jurisdictions; competition from others using technology similar to
Alnylam’s and others developing products for similar uses; Alnylam’s
dependence on collaborators; and Alnylam’s short operating history; as
well as those risks more fully discussed in the "Risk Factors” section
of its most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q on file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. 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
does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
