August 29, 2012
Alnylam, Monsanto collaborate on advance agricultural technology
A strategic alliance to advance biological technologies in the field of agriculture has been formed between Monsanto Company and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.
The new alliance brings Alnylam''s broad RNAi-based intellectual property (IP) and proprietary technologies to Monsanto''s new BioDirecta？￠ technology, which aims to deliver innovative biological solutions for farmers.
Under the terms of the agreement, Monsanto receives worldwide, exclusive rights to use Alnylam''s platform technology and IP in the field of agriculture, including the ability to grant sublicenses. Monsanto will pay Alnylam US$29.2 million in upfront payments. In addition, Alnylam is eligible to receive milestone payments and additional funding for collaborative research efforts. Further, Alnylam is eligible to receive royalty payments on products utilising Alnylam technology and IP. Moreover, Monsanto becomes Alnylam''s strategic partner in agriculture for a 10-year period.
"We are very pleased to partner with Alnylam, a leading technology company with unparalleled intellectual property and a technology platform that will support our work in agricultural biologicals, introduced earlier this year with BioDirect technology," said Tom Adams, Vice President of Chemistry Technology at Monsanto. "We believe biological products have great promise in agriculture and we are excited to be collaborating with Alnylam in this area."
"There could be no stronger partner for these applications, as Monsanto has a deep commitment to innovation and scientific excellence, and to the advancement of technologies to improve agriculture," said Rachel Meyers, Ph.D., Vice President, Research and RNAi Lead Development at Alnylam.
"This new alliance furthers our vision for RNAi technologies across a broad range of applications and is representative of our passion to pioneer these new frontiers. While we remain focused on the advancement of RNAi therapeutics as a new class of innovative medicines- and, specifically our ''Alnylam 5x15'' product strategy- this collaboration with Monsanto enables broader uses of Alnylam intellectual property and technologies for additional value creation."
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to produce more from their land while conserving more of our world''s natural resources such as water and energy.