Alnylam up on in vivo infection data

The data, presented at The Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Antonio, Texas, demonstrated that a single low dose of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) candidate, ALN-RSV01, inhibits RSV replication both as a prophylactic and as a treatment when administered intranasally in a liquid form.

ALN-RSV01 specifically silences an RSV gene required for viral replication. Preclinical studies performed in mice demonstrated that a single low dose of ALN-RSV01 protected against subsequent RSV infection. ALN-RSV01 was also shown to be effective in the treatment of an existing RSV infection.

Ongoing and future studies are analyzing the topical delivery of ALN-RSV01 to the lung by aerosolization through a nebulizer.

“Alnylam is rapidly progressing toward our goal of developing a safe and efficacious RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of RSV infection,” said Dr John Maraganore, Alnylam’s president and CEO. “Based on the encouraging preclinical data we have seen to date, we are driving ALN-RSV01 forward toward human clinical trials in the first half of 2006.”