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Alnylam halts AMD drug development

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CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A drug in preclinical trials for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration is being pulled by the developer, which cited “increasing competition” as a factor in its decision.

Alnylam announced in a press release that a planned phase 1 trial of its AMD candidate would be suspended due to “reported efficacy in recent phase 3 studies from competing drugs.”

Alnylam was co-developing an RNA-interference drug, ALN-VEG01, with Merck, the release said. The treatment was designed to inhibit the growth of new blood vessels, the company said. Competitors Macugen (pegaptanib, Pfizer/Eyetech) and Lucentis (ranibizumab, Genentech) are based on a similar mechanism of action, Alnylam noted in the release.

The company is still developing other RNAi drugs, according to news sources.