Merck Dumps Sirna RNAi Assets for $175M

Merck has agreed to sell its Sirna Therapeutics assets to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a RNAi therapeutics company, for an upfront payment of $175 million in cash and equity.

The price tag is significantly less than the $1.1B Merck paid to acquire the promising biotechnology firm back in 2006, when RNAi-based therapies were peaking in the industry.

With this sale, Merck has almost completely eliminated RNAi efforts from its portfolio.

Read the press release