Blackstone Group is pumping $2 billion into Alnylam Pharmaceuticals to help the company bring its late-stage drugs to market.
Last year, Alnylam became the first company to win approval for a drug that uses Nobel Prize-winning RNA interference (RNAi) technology — or “gene silencing” — that works by turning off a gene to prevent disease. Alnylam is now using RNAi technology to develop other treatments for rare diseases. The company is also working with Vir Technology to develop a new coronavirus treatment.
Blackstone’s equity-and-debt deal includes $1 billion in funding for the company’s cholesterol therapy drug, inclisiran, which is being reviewed by the FDA and EMA, in exchange for 50 percent of royalties. The deal also gives Alnylam a $750 million secured loan so the company can access funds while circumventing the volatile stock market.
Read the Wall Street Journal report.
