RNAi therapeutics developer Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY) has just one product in advanced clinical trials, but has a market cap of $1.2 billion. Alnylam is considered a leader in RNA interference (RNAi), which is considered a hot field and attracts a great deal of attention, even though no drug based on the technique has made it to market. Alnylam's market cap has climbed beyond that of the $1.1 billion company value for the sale of another company in the field, SiRNA Therapeutics Inc., to Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK), in a deal which shined a spotlight on the sector.
"I still think that we're undervalued," Alnylam president and COO Barry Greene told "Globes" in an exclusive interview ahead of visit to Israel to attend this week's Israel Life Sciences Industry (ILSI) Biomed 2008 conference.
RNA is a link between information stored in genes (DNA) and the expression of that information. Essentially, RNA interference can disrupt, or silence, proteins produced by RNA in cases where those proteins are disease-causing. Abnormal production of proteins is considered a cause of many illnesses.
Greene says, "There are two strategies for dealing with a leaky faucet: most drugs wipe up the floor, while we try to close the tap and interfere with RNA's activity."
"Globes": How can a company with a product in Phase II clinical trials be worth so much and arouse such market interest?
Greene: "RNAi is one of the breakthroughs that occurs maybe once a decade. Our company was founded by pioneers in the field, including Nobel Prize Laureates. We've seized the lead position and we control a large part of the intellectual property in the field. The goal is to bring a range of drugs, operating on the basis of a completely new mechanism - that is far more effective - to a market that is hungry for innovation."
Is anything else bringing you to Israel beside Biomed 2008?
"I want both to visit Israel and to seek deals. I'm especially interested in a company whose science is deep, whose trials can be repeated and always obtain the same results, and with well defined and protected intellectual property. It's very important that companies understand what they're really worth. We also made small deals in the beginning."
This sector is similar to what Israeli firms Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Rosetta Genomics Ltd. (Nasdaq:ROSG) are doing.
"Quark has also developed drugs on the basis of these ideas. They were smart when they bought some patents from us, so they'd have freedom of action."
"Rosetta is doing something else, which also falls under the RNA umbrella, and is very fascinating. After all, genes operate by encoding proteins that are active in the body. It was only recently discovered that parts of the genome previously thought to be inactive because they didn’t encode proteins, actually have a critical function - they encode RNA that monitors the activity of genes that do encode the proteins. The monitoring RNA is called microRNA, and from our perspective, what is good about that is that you can act on microRNA through RNAi."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 26, 2008
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