VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq:TKMR) (TSX:TKM), a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, disclosed that the Board of Patent Appeals and Interference (BPAI) of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) released its decision on March 13, 2012 in the motions phase of a patent interference proceeding between Tekmira's subsidiary, Protiva Biotherapeutics and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The patent and patent application that are at issue in the interference proceeding include claims to a key component of Alnylam's ALN-VSP product and have no bearing on Tekmira's own products.
