Deals News

Demonstrating once again the powerful pull of RNAi, Roche has agreed to pay $331 million up front--including an equity payment--and up to a billion dollars overall for the nonexclusive licensing rights to Alnylam's gene silencing technology. Roche winds up with a 5 percent stake in the company. It's a huge deal for Alnylam, which recorded about $27 million in revenue last year. Alnylam's stock soared 61.6 percent on the news. The package includes a $15 million payout to acquire Alnylam's …