Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation, was established in May 2003. The company is a biopharmaceutical company developing new treatments based on RNA or RNAi interference. RNAi is a specific gene that selectively silences and regulates expression that occurs naturally in cells in organisms. Since many diseases are caused by inappropriate activities of specific genes, the ability of RNAi to selectively silence genes can provide a new way to treat many human diseases. The company believes that drugs that work through the RNAi principle have the potential to become a new class of drugs, such as small molecule drugs, protein drugs, and antibody drugs. Through the intellectual property rights and expertise that have been established in RNAi, the company is developing a set of biochemical methods to help the company build a system through which it can develop and improve the treatment of RNAi for various diseases.
