CAMBRIDGE - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), the leading RNAi therapeutics company, today announced that the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) has approved ONPATTRO (patisiran) for the treatment of hereditary transthyretin-mediated (hATTR) amyloidosis in adults with stage 1 or stage 2 polyneuropathy.
hATTR amyloidosis is a rare, progressive condition that is considered endemic in Brazil, affecting more than 5,000 people.i Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, ONPATTRO is the first approved RNAi therapeutic in Latin America and will be the first Alnylam product launched and marketed in the region.
'The approval of ONPATTRO in Brazil marks an exciting milestone for so many Brazilians with hATTR amyloidosis in need of a new treatment option that could halt the progression of this debilitating and life-threatening disease. We are grateful to ANVISA for recognizing the significant impact of this disease on patients' daily lives and for granting approval to the first RNAi therapeutic in Latin America - ONPATTRO - so swiftly, a mere four months after the marketing authorization application was filed. We will continue collaborating with ANVISA and the Ministry of Health in order to incorporate ONPATTRO in the federal program (SUS), to make the drug available to patients in need as soon as possible,' said Norton Oliveira, Senior Vice President, Head of Latin America at Alnylam.
ONPATTRO's approval is based on positive data from the APOLLO Phase 3 study, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of patisiran in hATTR amyloidosis patients with polyneuropathy. Results from the APOLLO study were published in the July 5, 2018 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.
ANVISA granted ONPATTRO priority review, an accelerated review designation awarded to innovative medicines that treat rare diseases. ONPATTRO has previously been approved for use in the U.S., EU, Canada, Japan, and Switzerland. The therapy had been granted Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with priority or accelerated review status from regulatory agencies in the U.S., EU, Canada, and Japan.
About ONPATTRO (patisiran)
ONPATTRO is an RNAi therapeutic that was approved in the United States and Canada for the treatment of the polyneuropathy of hATTR amyloidosis in adults. ONPATTRO is also approved in the European Union, Switzerland and Brazil for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis in adults with Stage 1 or Stage 2 polyneuropathy, and in Japan for the treatment of hATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. Based on Nobel Prize-winning science, ONPATTRO is an intravenously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR). It is designed to target and silence TTR messenger RNA, thereby blocking the production of TTR protein before it is made. ONPATTRO blocks the production of TTR in the liver, reducing its accumulation in the body's tissues in order to halt or slow down the progression of the polyneuropathy associated with the disease.
About hATTR Amyloidosis
Hereditary transthyretin (TTR)-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR) is an inherited, progressively debilitating, and often fatal disease caused by mutations in the TTR gene. TTR protein is primarily produced in the liver and is normally a carrier of vitamin A. Mutations in the TTR gene cause abnormal amyloid proteins to accumulate and damage body organs and tissue, such as the peripheral nerves and heart, resulting in intractable peripheral sensory-motor neuropathy, autonomic neuropathy, and/or cardiomyopathy, as well as other disease manifestations. hATTR amyloidosis, represents a major unmet medical need with significant morbidity and mortality affecting approximately 50,000 people worldwide. The median survival is 4.7 years following diagnosis, with a reduced survival (3.4 years) for patients presenting with cardiomyopathy.
About RNAi
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 today. 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 today's medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA (mRNA) - 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.
About Alnylam
Alnylam (Nasdaq: ALNY) is leading the translation of RNA interference (RNAi) 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 (CNS)/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 is delivering on a bold vision to turn scientific possibility into reality, with a robust RNAi therapeutics platform. Alnylam's commercial RNAi therapeutic products are ONPATTRO (patisiran), approved in the U.S., EU, Canada, Japan, and Switzerland, and Brazil, and GIVLAARI (givosiran), approved in the U.S. Alnylam has a deep pipeline of investigational medicines, including five product candidates that are in late-stage development. Alnylam is executing 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 1,300 people worldwide and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA.
Alnylam Forward Looking Statements
Various statements in this release concerning Alnylam's future expectations, plans and prospects, including, without limitation, Alnylam's views and plans with respect to the potential for RNAi therapeutics, including ONPATTRO, its plans for the launch of ONPATTRO in Brazil and continuing product launches globally, and expectations regarding the continued execution on its 'Alnylam 2020' guidance for the advancement and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, constitute forward-looking statements for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and future plans may differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements as a result of various important risks, uncertainties and other factors, including, without limitation: Alnylam's ability to discover and develop novel drug candidates and delivery approaches and successfully demonstrate the efficacy and safety of its product candidates; the pre-clinical and clinical results for its product candidates, which may not be replicated or continue to occur in other subjects or in additional studies or otherwise support further development of product candidates for a specified indication or at all; actions or advice of regulatory agencies, which may affect the design, initiation, timing, continuation and/or progress of clinical trials or result in the need for additional pre-clinical and/or clinical testing; delays, interruptions or failures in the manufacture and supply of its product candidates or its marketed products; obtaining, maintaining and protecting intellectual property; intellectual property matters including potential patent litigation relating to its platform, products or product candidates; obtaining regulatory approval for its product candidates, including lumasiran, and maintaining regulatory approval and obtaining pricing and reimbursement for its products, including ONPATTRO and GIVLAARI; progress in continuing to establish a commercial and ex-United States infrastructure, including in Brazil; successfully launching, marketing and selling its approved products globally, including ONPATTRO and GIVLAARI, and achieve net product revenues for ONPATTRO within our expected range during 2020; Alnylam's ability to successfully expand the indication for ONPATTRO in the future; competition from others using technology similar to Alnylam's and others developing products for similar uses; Alnylam's ability to manage its growth and operating expenses within the ranges of its expected guidance and achieve a self-sustainable financial profile in the future, obtain additional funding to support its business activities, and establish and maintain strategic business alliances and new business initiatives; Alnylam's dependence on third parties, including Regeneron, for development, manufacture and distribution of certain products, including eye and CNS products, and Ironwood, for assistance with the education about and promotion of GIVLAARI; the outcome of litigation; the risk of government investigations and unexpected expenditures, as well as those risks more fully discussed in the 'Risk Factors' filed with Alnylam's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and in other filings that Alnylam makes with the SEC. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent Alnylam's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. Alnylam explicitly disclaims any obligation, except to the extent required by law, to update any forward-looking statements.
Contact:
Christine Regan Lindenboom
Tel: 617-682-4340
ALNYLAM PHARMACEUTICALS, INC. 
