Huntington’s disease has a trio of new enemies in Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NSDQ:ALNY), Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) and the CHDI Foundation Inc.
The three are collaborating on a new drug-device combination called ALN-HTT for treatment of the neurodegenerative genetic disorder.
The system consists of an Alnylam RNAi therapeutic that targets huntingtin, the gene responsible for Huntington’s disease, and an implantable infusion system developed by Medtronic, according to the companies.
CHDI, a virtual biotech non-profit devoted to developing therapies exclusively for Huntington’s disease, is financing up to half "of the investigational new drug application-enabling activities," according to a release.
“Alnylam and Medtronic have shown leadership and encouraging progress in developing a novel drug-device combination for the treatment of Huntington’s disease. Their collaborative approach demonstrates a combined commitment to tackle this devastating disease and this program is closely aligned with CHDI’s mission,” CHDI president of management Robi Blumenstein said in prepared remarks.
The agreement between Cambridge, Mass.-based Alnylam and Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic will remain a 50-50 partnership in the U.S. Medtronic will commercialize the therapy consisting of the RNAi compound and delivery device, according to the companies.
