Alnylam to Appeal Claim Construction Ruling on Two Patents Asserted Against Moderna

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced an update on its ongoing patent infringement litigation. On March 17, 2022, Alnylam initiated litigation in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware against Moderna for patent infringement. To date, in two separate actions against Moderna, Alnylam has sought to recover reasonable compensation for Moderna’s infringement of five Alnylam patents that cover key lipid technology embedded in Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine, SPIKEVAX.

On August 21, 2023, the Delaware Court issued an order construing certain claim terms in two of the asserted Alnylam patents. In light of that order, Alnylam and Moderna have jointly agreed to final judgment of non-infringement of two of Alnylam’s patents. Alnylam respectfully disagrees with the Delaware Court’s ruling and intends to appeal the decision. Alnylam anticipates that its second action against Moderna for infringement will move forward in the Delaware Court.

The Delaware Court’s claim construction ruling did not impact Alnylam’s infringement contentions in its two separate suits against Pfizer. Alnylam will continue to assert six patents against Pfizer to recover reasonable compensation for Pfizer’s use of Alnylam’s technology in its COVID-19 vaccine, COMIRNATY.

Alnylam strongly believes in the strength of its patents and its cases against both Moderna and Pfizer and will continue its efforts to have its claims heard before a jury at trial.

About RNAi

RNAi (RNA interference) is a natural cellular process of gene silencing that represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing frontiers in biology and drug development today. Its discovery has been heralded as “a major scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or so,” and was recognized with the award of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. By harnessing the natural biological process of RNAi occurring in our cells, a new class of medicines known as RNAi therapeutics is now a reality. Small interfering RNA (siRNA), the molecules that mediate RNAi and comprise Alnylam’s RNAi therapeutic platform, function upstream of today’s medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA (mRNA) – the genetic precursors – that encode for disease-causing or disease pathway proteins, thus preventing them from being made. This is a revolutionary approach with the potential to transform the care of patients with genetic and other diseases.