RNAi Firms Unite Rather than Fight

Young companies bickering and battling over intellectual property (IP) tend to have a hard time getting ahead in life. Potential partners shy from the risk inherent in uncertain legal standing, and investors get spooked too. Who wants to bet on a firm that may eventually have the rug pulled out from under it? This recognition helped spark the early July merger of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Cambridge, MA, and Ribopharma AG of Kulmbach, Germany (to create Alnylam Holding Co. ) [See Deal].

Both firms felt they held important IP in the new and hot field of research based on a phenomenon known...