Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, has filed a complaint against Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and false advertising.

The suit, filed in the Business Litigation Session (BLS) of the Massachusetts Superior Court, alleges Alnylam exploited its confidential relationship as a collaborator with Tekmira to engage in inappropriate and harmful conduct concerning Tekmira's proprietary Lipid Nano-Particle (LNP) siRNA delivery technology, resulting in damage to Tekmira's intellectual property and business interests.

In summary, the complaint states that Alnylam has harmed Tekmira and its shareholders by: misappropriating confidential information, including trade secrets and other commercially valuable information from Tekmira; disclosing Tekmira's step-by-step LNP formulation manufacturing instructions to at least one third-party collaborator; incorporating Tekmira's confidential information into Alnylam's patent filings and claiming ownership in direct violation of a licensing agreement between the two companies; willfully and knowingly misusing Tekmira's confidential information for Alnylam's own enrichment; and engaging in other unfairly competitive, deceptive and misleading actions in their public disclosures such as claiming Tekmira's technology as their own.

The damages that Tekmira will be seeking are substantial. Among these damages, Tekmira believes it has rights to Alnylam's pipeline products.  These damages, including future milestones and royalties associated with these products alone could exceed one billion dollars. In addition, Tekmira will also seek the profits that Alnylam has unjustly received from collaborations based on the wrongful use of Tekmira's technology. All of this will be subject to what Tekmira learns in discovery in prosecuting this case, but even at this early stage, Tekmira believes that it is entitled to very significant damages by reason of Alnylam's illegal conduct as alleged in the complaint.

“Tekmira's goal for this litigation is to regain — as soon as possible — control over our proprietary LNP technology and preserve its full value. We believe this is the right and only course of action to achieve our goal, and we are fully committed and prepared to pursue this lawsuit until we have a fair and satisfactory resolution,” said Dr Mark J Murray, Tekmira's president and CEO.

“Tekmira is the industry-leading innovator in RNAi delivery technology, and our continued leadership depends on preserving, protecting, and growing our IP estate in order to support our internal product development and enable our pharmaceutical partners,” Dr Murray added.

Tekmira has taken appropriate steps to ensure that the company can pursue this lawsuit without interruption to its core business activities. Tekmira's financial guidance and expected cash runway remain the same, with the current cash on hand enabling execution of its business strategy into 2012. Tekmira plans to report its year-end 2010 audited financial results on March 30, 2011.

RNAi therapeutics has the potential to treat a broad number of human diseases by ‘silencing’ disease causing genes. The discoverers of RNAi, a gene silencing mechanism used by all cells, were awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi therapeutics, such as ‘siRNAs,’ require delivery technology to be effective systemically.

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing novel RNAi therapeutics and providing its leading Lipid Nano-Particle delivery (LNP) technology to pharmaceutical partners.