France's Sanofi decided against exercising an option to develop Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s investigational medicine lumasiran.
The drug, formerly known as ALN-GO1, is being studied as a treatment for primary hyperoxaluria type 1, a rare condition that mainly affects the kidneys.
Alnylam said it will accelerate the development of lumasiran, with a phase 3 trial scheduled in late 2018. If approved, the company intends to commercialize the drug worldwide.
The drug has also been granted the breakthrough therapy status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Alnylam and Sanofi Genzyme entered a partnership to accelerate the advancement of ribonucleic acid interference, or RNAi, therapies as potential treatments of patients with rare genetic diseases in January 2014.
Sanofi Genzyme retains the right to opt into other Alnylam rare genetic disease programs for development and commercialization.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of RNAi therapeutics for treating rare genetic, cardio-metabolic and acute hepatic infectious diseases.
