Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has granted Calando Pharmaceuticals an InterfeRx license to discover, develop, and commercialize an RNAi therapeutic towards a cancer target utilizing a synthetic siRNA, together with Calando’s proprietary delivery technology. As part of the agreement, Calando also has an option to acquire an InterfeRx license for a second target gene. Financial terms were not disclosed, but include upfront, annual, and milestone payments, and royalties on sales of any products covered by the licensing agreement.

“Alnylam established the InterfeRx licensing program to provide access to our leading intellectual property estate for disease targets in areas outside the scope of our current research. We are pleased to be granting this license to Calando to enable their efforts with Alnylam intellectual property, which we believe is critical for the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics,” said John Maraganore, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Alnylam.

“Calando is focused on designing, developing, and commercializing RNAi therapeutics to treat serious medical conditions, such as cancer, by combining effective siRNAs with our patented and proprietary systemic delivery technologies,” said John Petrovich, president and chief executive officer of Calando Pharmaceuticals. “This license from Alnylam is an important step in our efforts to develop and commercialize novel RNAi therapies for serious diseases and conditions requiring systemic delivery.”