Strategic Alliance Magazine Q1 2020 - 31

ALLIANCE MANAGEMENT AND THE DEAL

A Learning Organization:
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of RNA interference therapeutics for genetic diseases. Founded in 2002 based on
Nobel Prize-winning science, Alnylam is headquartered in
Cambridge, Mass., and has approximately 1200 employees.
The company pursues a wide variety of therapeutic targets
ranging from viruses to cancer to neurological diseases.

"A deal is a collection of compro-mises.
It's important to understand not just
who compromised on what, but to
have seen the body language across
the table and to have observed who
actually was the decision maker."
"As the preeminent scientific leaders in the RNAi space, we
are in a position to carefully evaluate which development
opportunities can benefit from partnering," said Vin Sharma,
CA-AM, vice president and head of alliance leadership for
Alnylam. "We have a strong suite of current alliances and a
vast array of potential partners."
These alliances reside along a spectrum in terms of maturity and scope. On one end, inclisiran, a potential treatment
to lower LDL cholesterol, was acquired by Novartis in late
2019 after having been licensed by Alnylam to The Medicines
Company some years earlier. At the other end, in early 2019
Alnylam launched a wide-ranging partnership with Regeneron
to work together on research and development targeting diseases impacting the eye, central nervous system, and liver.
"We create certain value alone, but often there is much
more potential to be realized through partnering," Sharma
acknowledged.

Sharma described the alliance management function at
Alnylam as integral to most deals. "We are a learning organization, and alliance management brings that knowledge from
past partnerships to the deal. My team is brought in to help
develop the deal from concept sheet forward-allowing for
operational expectations to be clearly defined early on."

Maximizing Value: Alliance
Management's Role in the
Deal and After
The role of alliance management at Alnylam, according to
Sharma, is largely one of helping determine "how to maximize long-term value for both partners, rather than merely
executing against a predefined contract."
Some of the areas of negotiation in which alliance management can bring an important perspective based on experience with past deals, Sharma said, include:
Platform data capture and exchange. "As development programs grow, and the technology evolves,
there's value in us being a node to capture, summarize, and interpret the various inputs."
Manufacturing considerations. "Given our specialized focus, we may be best suited to handle and
optimize manufacture of our platform products."
Regulatory interface. "Again, given our specialized
expertise in a class of interrelated products, we are
often best suited to lead engagement with regulatory bodies regarding the platform technology."
In addition to bringing to the table "lessons learned" from
past deals, Sharma offered a number of other areas where alliance management is well positioned to contribute at the negotiation stage. Alnylam, for example, has multiple alliances and
at times development efforts may overlap between alliances.
"Alliance management is uniquely positioned to help ensure

Q1 2020 |

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Strategic Alliance Magazine Q1 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Strategic Alliance Magazine Q1 2020
