Therapy Areas: Infectious Diseases
Alnylam Submits CTA Application for ALN-AGT, an Investigational RNAi Therapeutic for the Treatment of Hypertension in High Unmet Need Settings
11 March 2019 - - US-based RNAi therapeutics company Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) has submitted a clinical trial authorization application to The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the United Kingdom to initiate a Phase 1 study of ALN-AGT, an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting angiotensinogen for the treatment of hypertension in high unmet need populations, including patients with resistant or refractory hypertension, chronic kidney disease or heart failure, the company said.

The company plans to initiate a Phase 1 study in mid-2019, upon obtaining MHRA approval.

ALN-AGT is an investigational, subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting angiotensinogen in development for the treatment of hypertension in high unmet need populations.

ALN-AGT utilises Alnylam's Enhanced Stabilization Chemistry Plus GalNAc-conjugate technology, which enables subcutaneous dosing with increased selectivity and a wide therapeutic index.

The safety and efficacy of ALN-AGT have not been evaluated by the FDA, EMA or any other health authority.

Hypertension is a complex multifactorial disease clinically defined as a systolic blood pressure of above 130 or a diastolic blood pressure of greater than 80 mmHg.

Approximately 47 % of US adults live with hypertension with more than half of patients on medication remaining above the blood pressure target level.

Despite the availability of antihypertensive medications, there remains an unmet medical need, particularly given the poor rates of adherence to existing therapies and peak and trough effects.

In particular, there are a number of high unmet need settings where novel approaches to hypertension are warranted, including resistant and refractory hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and heart failure.

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.

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 current medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA the genetic precursors that encode for disease-causing 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.

Alnylam (NASDAQ: ALNY) is leading the translation of RNA interference into a whole new class of innovative medicines with the potential to transform the lives of people afflicted with rare genetic, cardio-metabolic, hepatic infectious, and central nervous system /ocular diseases.

Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, RNAi therapeutics represent a powerful, clinically validated approach for the treatment of a wide range of severe and debilitating diseases.

Founded in 2002, Alnylam's first US FDA-approved RNAi therapeutic is Onpattro (patisiran) lipid complex injection available in the US for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis in adults.

In the EU, Onpattro is approved for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis in adults with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy. Alnylam has a deep pipeline of investigational medicines, including five product candidates that are in late-stage development.

Looking forward, Alnylam will continue to execute on its "Alnylam 2020" strategy of building a multi-product, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company with a sustainable pipeline of RNAi-based medicines to address the needs of patients who have limited or inadequate treatment options.

Alnylam employs over 1,000 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
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