Alnylam settles litigation with Tekmira, restructures licensing agreement

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge company looking to develop therapeutics based on RNA interference, said Monday night that it has restructured its relationship with Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp. of Canada with a new licensing agreement; it added that the two companies have resolved all litigation between the parties in a settlement agreement.

In a press release, Tekmira said it will receive $65 million within 10 days and is eligible to receive $10 million in near-term milestone payments expected to be received in 2013, as a result of the restructuring and new agreements.

In a press release of its own, Alnylam said it will incur a $65 million charge to operating expenses during the fourth quarter of 2012 related to the restructuring of its license agreements with Tekmira. As a result, Alnylam said it is revising its financial guidance to end 2012 with greater than $215 million in cash.

The litigation involved intellectual property rights of lipid nanoparticle technology, Tekmira said.

Alnylam has scheduled a Tuesday morning conference call to discuss the matter further. Tekmira also scheduled a call for this morning.