Pharma BD Deal Intelligence

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.

2019 · Co-Development · $1.0B · Complete

A $1B RNAi collaboration where Regeneron bought a $400M equity stake in Alnylam to co-develop eye and CNS therapeutics. The partnership deepened Alnylam's platform reach into new disease areas well beyond its early liver-targeted franchise.

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The coverage arc

Apr 08, 2019 BioSpace Bullish

Regeneron and Alnylam ink $1 billion eye and central nervous system R&D deal to advance RNAi therapeutics across 30 targets

Apr 08, 2019 STAT News Bullish

Regeneron to invest $800 million in Alnylam for RNAi therapeutics collaboration targeting eye and CNS diseases with equity stake

Feb 25, 2025 Alnylam R&D Day pipeline update (Feb 25, 2025) Bullish

ALN-APP (mivelsiran) Phase 1 enrolling with potent, durable APPbeta reduction; ALN-HTT02 Huntington's disease Phase 1b ongoing, developed in partnership with…

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Regeneron and Alnylam entered a broad strategic collaboration to discover, develop, and commercialize RNAi therapeutics for eye and CNS diseases. Regeneron made a $400 million equity investment in Alnylam and the deal included development milestones and profit-sharing arrangements.

Key facts

Disease & market context

Geographic Atrophy / AMD

200K US cases/yr · $3.0B GA/AMD Treatment Market (2024)

Disease Overview

Geographic atrophy is the advanced form of dry AMD, affecting ~1.5 million Americans. Two complement inhibitors (Syfovre by Apellis, Izervay by Astellas) were approved in 2023 for GA. The Regeneron-Alnylam collaboration targets eye diseases with RNAi, a different modality approach.

RNAi Opportunity

Regeneron invested $400M equity in Alnylam to access RNAi therapeutics for eye and CNS diseases. Ocular delivery of siRNA faces challenges (penetration, durability) but could offer alternatives to frequent intravitreal injections. Programs remain in early discovery. Anti-VEGF therapies (Eylea, Lucentis) dominate wet AMD ($10B+ market).

CNS Diseases (RNAi)

$5.0B RNAi Therapeutics Market (2024, all indications)

Disease Overview

Delivering RNAi therapeutics to the CNS is a major challenge. The Regeneron-Alnylam collaboration aims to develop siRNA therapies for neurodegenerative diseases. CNS delivery requires crossing the blood-brain barrier, a problem that intrathecal delivery and novel conjugates are attempting to solve.

Technology Challenge

Alnylam has pioneered hepatocyte-targeted siRNA (Onpattro, Amvuttra, Leqvio) using GalNAc conjugation. CNS delivery is fundamentally different, requiring new delivery technologies. Competitors include Ionis (ASOs with proven CNS delivery via intrathecal route) and Arrowhead. The collaboration is early-stage with no clinical candidates disclosed.

Deal timeline

Related deals — scored

DealYearValueOutcome
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (this deal)2019$1.0B77
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / CytomX Therapeutics, Inc.2026$4.0B62
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Sanofi S.A. (Libtayo global rights)2022$1.1B
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / 23andMe, Inc.2025$256M
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Parabilis Medicines, Inc.2026$2.3B
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited2026$2.1B
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. / Tessera Therapeutics, Inc.2025$275M

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