For the first time since we started our surveys in 2003, sixth-ranked Alnylam Pharmaceuticals placed among the top ten small companies. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company develops medicines that rely on RNA interference to increase or decrease gene activity. Research in RNA interference is booming, with over 25 companies entering the field in the last ten years.
Alnylam's increased visibility this year may be due, in part, to its stable financial position. Since its founding in 2002, Alnylam has pursued an aggressive strategy of partnering with pharma giants like Merck, Roche, and Novartis to license potential therapies, enabling it to grow from 15 employees to a staff of about 170, 140 of whom are scientists. Alnylam boasts the eighth best ratio of assets to debt in the biotech industry and is sitting on vast cash reserves of $512 million, says CEO John Maraganore. The cushion of money makes ...
