On Mar. 4, 2020, Vir Biotech and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced an expansion of their existing collaboration to include the development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics targeting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19.

Under the agreement, the companies will utilize Alnylam’s recent advances in lung delivery of novel conjugates of siRNA – the molecules that mediate RNAi – together with Vir’s infectious disease expertise and established capabilities, to bring forward one or more siRNAs to treat SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other coronaviruses as well. The collaboration will focus on development of siRNAs that Alnylam recently identified that target highly conserved regions of coronavirus RNAs.

Alnylam has designed and synthesized over 350 siRNAs targeting all available SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 genomes, which will be screened in in vitro potency assays. Potent siRNA lead candidates will be further evaluated by scientists at Vir for in vitro and in vivo anti-viral activity, leading to the selection of a development candidate (DC).

Vir will lead all development and commercialization of any selected DCs. At clinical proof of concept, Alnylam will have an option to share equally in the profits and losses associated with the development and commercialization of the coronavirus program. Alternatively, Alnylam may elect to earn development and commercialization milestones and royalties on net sales of products resulting from the collaboration in amounts agreed upon for the coronavirus program. This new program expands the companies’ existing licensing agreement announced in 2017 to now develop up to six novel siRNAs to treat infectious diseases.

The companies are currently collaborating on VIR-2218 (ALN-HBV02), a novel, investigational RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the first program to enter the clinic as a part of the infectious disease collaboration. The safety and efficacy of VIR-2218 are currently being investigated in an ongoing Phase 1/2 study.