Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Tenaya Therapeutics have announced a collaboration to discover new genetic targets for heart disease. According to a press release from Tenaya, Alnylam will provide an upfront payment of $10 million and could pay up to $1.13 billion in research funding and milestone payments. The agreement also includes reimbursement for related costs during a two-year validation period.
Tenaya will use its target identification and validation platform to find up to 15 gene targets that may lead to new treatments for cardiovascular diseases. After this discovery phase, Alnylam will take over the development and commercialization of any resulting therapies.
Faraz Ali, CEO of Tenaya, stated: “By combining our modality agnostic target identification and validation capabilities with Alnylam’s leadership in RNA interference therapeutics, we have an opportunity to advance candidates for novel genetic targets with the potential to create transformational medicines for patients with heart disease.”
While specific disease areas were not disclosed in the announcement, Tenaya's current pipeline includes gene therapy programs targeting both common and rare cardiac conditions. Their clinical-stage candidates include TN-201 for MYBPC3-associated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and TN-401 for PKP2-associated arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
Alnylam is already established in cardiovascular medicine with Amvuttra, approved for ATTR-cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM), as well as other late-stage drug candidates such as nucresiran for ATTR-CM, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia.
The cardiovascular field has seen increased activity recently. In January 2025, Kardigan launched with $300 million focusing on targeted therapies for heart disease. BridgeBio gained approval last November for Attruby in ATTR-CM, adding competition alongside Alnylam and Pfizer.
Other recent developments include Eli Lilly acquiring rights to a new immune-inflammatory cardiovascular program from CSL for $100 million upfront in February 2026. Corsera Health also raised $80 million in Series A financing this year to support siRNA programs aimed at lowering LDL-cholesterol and reducing blood pressure by silencing genes such as PCSK9 and angiotensinogen (AGT). Their lead candidate COR-1004 is now being tested in Phase 1 trials.
These partnerships highlight renewed interest among pharmaceutical companies seeking innovative approaches within the cardiovascular sector globally.
