What’s in a Name?

AL-NY-LAM. Our name may not be the easiest to pronounce, but once you learn it, you’ll never forget it. Alnylam is derived from “Alnilam,” the bright center star in the constellation Orion’s belt, which has been used by navigators for thousands of years and symbolizes our passion for discovery.

RNAi Therapeutics—An Innovative New Class of Medicines

Medicines based on RNAi work by “silencing” or disabling the production (“expression”) of the genes that cause specific diseases. In doing so, RNAi therapeutics work “upstream” of most other classes of medicines, such as small molecules and monoclonal antibodies, by targeting the “root” genetic cause of a disease rather than its symptoms. To learn more about our science, click here.

RNAi is the core discovery that forms the therapies Alnylam is developing. It is recognized as a major scientific breakthrough—but how does it work, exactly?

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