The collaboration is specifically targeting viral organisms, including hemorrhagic fever viruses, which pose a serious biological threat to the military and public health of the US.
“USAMRIID is actively seeking promising technologies to protect our armed forces, and we believe Alnylam’s RNAi therapeutic platform enables the rapid discovery and development of anti-virals designed to be broad in scope that can be stockpiled as a national safeguard against biodefense threats,” said Dr John Maraganore, president and CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
Mortality rates due to hemorrhagic fever virus infections, including Ebola, can be as high as 90%. Human infections with these viruses are very rare and generally occur through contact with bodily fluids from infected animals or from person to person through close contact or contaminated syringes.
However, because infection is fatal in most cases and no vaccine or proven countermeasures exist, there is a concern that these viruses would pose severe public health risks if spread deliberately as biological weapons. Initial symptoms are nonspecific and resemble other viral infections. Disease often progresses from fever to severe complications such as internal bleeding from body orifices and organs.