The Medicines Company And Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Announce Presentation Of New Pre-Clinical Data On PCSK9 At Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis And Vascular Biology 2014 Scientific Sessions

PARSIPPANY, NJ--(Marketwired - May 01, 2014) - The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALNY) announced today the presentation of new pre-clinical data from ALN-PCSsc, targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. These data are being presented at the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) 2014 Scientific Sessions being held May 1-3 in Toronto, Ontario.

In an oral presentation titled “A Subcutaneous, Potent and Durable RNAi Platform Targeting Metabolic Diseases, Genes PCSK9, ApoCIII and ANGPLT3" new pre-clinical data utilizing Alnylam’s GalNAc-siRNA conjugate platform demonstrated robust, durable, and clamped knockdown of PCSK9 of up to 96% and reduction of LDL-C of up to 77% with single dose of ALN-PCSsc in the absence of statins in Non-Human Primates.

Alnylam also presented new single-dose durability data for ALN-PCSsc showing robust knockdown of PCSK9 and reductions in LDL-C that support once-monthly and possibly once-quarterly subcutaneous dosing regimens. Specifically, a single dose of ALN-PCSsc maintained greater than 50% LDL-C reductions for over 3 months in the absence of statin co-administration.

Alnylam plans to file an investigational new drug (IND) application, or IND equivalent, for ALN-PCSsc by late 2014 or early 2015.

ALN-PCSsc is being developed as a subcutaneously delivered RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. The ALN-PCS program is partnered with The Medicines Company, where, under the terms of the agreement, Alnylam will complete certain pre-clinical studies and a Phase 1 clinical study of ALN-PCSsc and The Medicines Company is responsible for leading and funding development from Phase 2 forward and commercializing the ALN-PCS program, if successful.

“These new data support our belief that the unique mechanism of action for ALN-PCSsc holds great promise for a differentiated and potentially best-in-class strategy for PCSK9 antagonism,” said Clive Meanwell, MD, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Medicines Company. “Subcutaneous dosing holds the potential for administration of a therapeutic in patients less frequently and less invasively than intravenous dosing. We are very excited about the potential of ALN-PCSsc as a key asset in our acute cardiovascular care portfolio.”

John Maraganore PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Alnylam said, “These new pre-clinical results demonstrate significant knockdown of PCSK9 and reductions in LDL-C with very durable effects, lasting over three months. We believe that this pharmacological profile could support a once-monthly and possibly a once-quarterly subcutaneous dosing regimen, which would be highly competitive with anti-PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies. Working with our colleagues at The Medicines Company, we look forward to advancing ALN-PCSsc toward clinical trials by the end of this year or early next.”

About The Medicines Company
The Medicines Company’s purpose is to save lives, alleviate suffering and contribute to the economics of healthcare by focusing on 3000 leading acute/intensive care hospitals worldwide. Its vision is to be a leading provider of solutions in three areas: acute cardiovascular care, surgery and perioperative care, and serious infection disease care. The company operates in the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions with global centers today in Parsippany, NJ, USA and Zurich, Switzerland.

About Alnylam Pharmaceuticals
Alnylam is a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or RNAi. The company is leading the translation of RNAi as a new class of innovative medicines with a core focus on RNAi therapeutics as genetic medicines, including programs as part of the company’s “Alnylam 5x15™" product strategy. Alnylam’s genetic medicine programs are RNAi therapeutics directed toward genetically defined targets for the treatment of serious, life-threatening diseases with limited treatment options for patients and their caregivers. These include: patisiran (ALN-TTR02), an intravenously delivered RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR) in patients with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP); ALN-TTRsc, a subcutaneously delivered RNAi therapeutic targeting TTR for the treatment of ATTR in patients with TTR cardiac amyloidosis, including familial amyloidotic cardiomyopathy (FAC) and senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA); ALN-AT3, an RNAi therapeutic targeting antithrombin (AT) for the treatment of hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders (RBD); ALN-CC5, an RNAi therapeutic targeting complement component C5 for the treatment of complement-mediated diseases; ALN-AS1, an RNAi therapeutic targeting aminolevulinate synthase-1 (ALAS-1) for the treatment of hepatic porphyrias including acute intermittent porphyria (AIP); ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic targeting PCSK9 for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia; ALN-AAT, an RNAi therapeutic targeting alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) for the treatment of AAT deficiency liver disease; ALN-TMP, an RNAi therapeutic targeting TMPRSS6 for the treatment of beta-thalassemia and iron-overload disorders; ALN-ANG, an RNAi therapeutic targeting angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) for the treatment of genetic forms of mixed hyperlipidemia and severe hypertriglyceridemia; ALN-AC3, an RNAi therapeutic targeting apolipoprotein C-III (apoCIII) for the treatment of hypertriglyceridemia; and other programs yet to be disclosed. As part of its “Alnylam 5x15" strategy, as updated in early 2014, the company expects to have six to seven genetic medicine product candidates in clinical development -- including at least two programs in Phase 3 and five to six programs with human proof of concept -- by the end of 2015. The company’s demonstrated commitment to RNAi therapeutics has enabled it to form major alliances with leading companies including Merck, Medtronic, Novartis, Biogen Idec, Roche, Takeda, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Cubist, GlaxoSmithKline, Ascletis, Monsanto, The Medicines Company, and Genzyme, a Sanofi company. In March 2014, Alnylam acquired Sirna Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck. In addition, Alnylam holds an equity position in Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a company focused on discovery, development, and commercialization of microRNA therapeutics. Alnylam scientists and collaborators have published their research on RNAi therapeutics in over 200 peer-reviewed papers, including many in the world’s top scientific journals such as Nature, Nature Medicine, Nature Biotechnology, Cell, the New England Journal of Medicine, and The Lancet. Founded in 2002, Alnylam maintains headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, please visit www.alnylam.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release about The Medicines Company that are not purely historical, and all other statements that are not purely historical, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates” and “expects” and similar expressions, including the Company’s preliminary revenue results, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the Company’s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Important factors that may cause or contribute to such differences include the extent of the commercial success of Angiomax, the Company’s ability to develop its global operations and penetrate foreign markets, whether the Company’s products will advance in the clinical trials process on a timely basis or at all, whether the Company will make regulatory submissions for product candidates on a timely basis, whether its regulatory submissions will receive approvals from regulatory agencies on a timely basis or at all, whether physicians, patients and other key decision makers will accept clinical trial results, and such other factors as are set forth in the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the risk factors detailed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 3, 2014, which are incorporated herein by reference. The Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.