BioCentury
ARTICLE | Strategy

Sirna or later

November 6, 2006 8:00 AM UTC

Merck & Co. Inc.'s willingness to pay $1.1 billion to acquire Sirna Therapeutics Inc., one of only a few companies to have reached the clinic with a short interfering RNA (siRNA) candidate, provides a real contrast for the choices companies face in deciding how to deal with largely unproven technology that could be transformational.

In its takeout deal, announced last week, MRK is following a different path than that taken last year by Novartis AG, which paid less than $70 million in upfront cash and equity in exchange for first dibs on any unpartnered RNAi programs emerging from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc...