Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has joined with the Max Planck Society in taking legal action toward the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. Also named in the suit are the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Massachusetts. The complaint, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court in Boston, Massachusetts, alleges that the Whitehead Institute has breached its contractual obligations to Max Planck and Alnylam in the manner in which it is prosecuting the Tuschl I patent applications and in its fiduciary duty to all of the co-owners of the Tuschl I patent series.

“Despite our exhaustive efforts, the Whitehead Institute, for whose scientific excellence we have the highest regard, has failed in their business obligations to Max Planck and Alnylam regarding the proper and successful prosecution of the Tuschl I applications. It is unfortunate that we needed to take this action, but we are convinced that it is necessary to correct improper and negligent prosecution of the Tuschl I patent applications. We have confidence that the court will recognize the merits of our case, and we will continue to take all appropriate actions needed to ensure the proper prosecution of our intellectual property rights,” said John Maraganore, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam. “In the meanwhile, as the sole licensee of both the Tuschl I and Tuschl II patents in the RNAi therapeutics field, Alnylam’s rights to these patents remain unchanged and our broad intellectual property position remains unique and unparalleled. Moreover, our efforts remain focused on bringing our innovative medicines to patients.”

In the field of RNAi therapeutics, Alnylam is the exclusive licensee of the Tuschl I patent applications from Max Planck, MIT, and Whitehead and of the Tuschl II patent applications from Max Planck. To date, the Tuschl I family, whose prosecution is controlled by Whitehead, has resulted in just two patents, in New Zealand and Australia, and an intent to grant in Europe. In comparison, numerous patents in the Tuschl II family, whose prosecution is controlled by Max Planck, have been issued or granted in 33 countries worldwide, including the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

As this matter is now in active litigation, Alnylam and Max Planck will not provide specific details in response to inquiries on this topic.