Alnylam Elevates Dr. Pushkal Garg to Lead Unified Research and Development Organization, Signaling Strategic Expansion into Next Phase of RNAi Therapeutics Innovation
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, a global leader in RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, has announced the promotion of Pushkal Garg, M.D., to the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Research and Development Officer. In this expanded position, Dr. Garg will oversee a newly integrated research and development (R&D) organization designed to enhance innovation, expedite drug development, and better address unmet medical needs through tighter alignment of scientific discovery and clinical execution.
This leadership transition arrives at a pivotal moment in Alnylam’s evolution, as the company builds upon the recent commercial success of AMVUTTRA® (vutrisiran)—a landmark treatment for transthyretin amyloidosis with cardiomyopathy (ATTR-CM). AMVUTTRA’s approval has not only underscored the therapeutic potential of RNAi-based medicines but also signaled Alnylam’s readiness to scale its capabilities and deepen its impact across a wider range of disease areas.
A Unified Vision to Accelerate Innovation
According to Alnylam’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Yvonne Greenstreet, the consolidation of research and development under Dr. Garg’s leadership is a strategic step intended to propel the company into its next phase of growth. “I could not be more excited for Pushkal to take the helm of the combined R&D organization, given his strategic vision, operational excellence and impressive track record building and steering an industry-leading, innovative drug development organization that has delivered a new class of medicines to the world,” Greenstreet said.
She emphasized that Alnylam’s innovation engine has been delivering consistently, with multiple new drug approvals, strong Phase 3 clinical outcomes, and a growing clinical-stage pipeline. This momentum, she noted, requires even more synergy between the research and development functions. “As our science has advanced, so has the need for tighter alignment across Research and Development to ensure that we continue to scale our impact and transform the lives of patients across a growing number of diseases,” Greenstreet stated.
By bringing research and clinical development under one organizational roof, Alnylam aims to accelerate its ability to turn laboratory discoveries into life-saving treatments. The company expects this integrated approach to facilitate earlier and more seamless collaboration, speedier decision-making, and more agile responses to emerging scientific opportunities or evolving patient needs.
Dr. Pushkal Garg: A Proven Leader in Translational Medicine
Dr. Pushkal Garg brings a wealth of experience to his new role, having joined Alnylam in 2014 to build and lead its Development organization. Under his guidance, the company’s R&D initiatives have grown in both breadth and depth, resulting in multiple regulatory approvals and a significantly expanded clinical pipeline. His scientific and operational leadership has been central to Alnylam’s emergence as a pioneer of RNAi therapeutics, a novel modality that harnesses the body’s natural gene-silencing mechanisms to selectively inhibit disease-causing genes.
Reflecting on his promotion and the responsibilities ahead, Dr. Garg conveyed enthusiasm for the company’s future direction. “As we begin this exciting new chapter, I am energized about what lies ahead for Alnylam R&D and for patients,” he said. “I believe we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what RNAi therapeutics can do to improve human health.”
Dr. Garg expressed a bold vision for the future of RNAi therapy, underscoring Alnylam’s goal of delivering gene-silencing drugs to every major tissue in the body. “Our ambition is to deliver RNAi therapeutics to every major tissue in the body and thereby address many additional diseases that lack effective treatments,” he noted. “It’s a privilege for me to have the opportunity to work with and lead an integrated R&D organization that has already validated a new class of medicines so that we can imagine the next generation of treatments, drive them from the lab to approval, and help patients live healthier lives.”
Career Highlights and Academic Foundations
Dr. Garg’s academic and professional journey uniquely positions him to lead a high-functioning, integrated R&D enterprise. He holds a B.A. in Biochemistry with high honors from the University of California, Berkeley, and earned his medical degree (M.D.) from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), a premier institution in biomedical research and clinical training.
Following his residency in Internal Medicine at UCSF, Dr. Garg was selected as a fellow in the prestigious Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Johns Hopkins University. He later served on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, contributing to both patient care and academic medicine before transitioning to the biopharmaceutical industry.
Before joining Alnylam, Dr. Garg held leadership roles at Bristol-Myers Squibb and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where he gained valuable experience in clinical development, regulatory affairs, and strategic program management—skills that would become foundational in his leadership of Alnylam’s development efforts.
Alnylam’s Expanding Pipeline and Next-Generation Strategy
The unification of Alnylam’s R&D teams under Dr. Garg comes at a time when the company is aggressively pursuing a broad pipeline strategy. Alnylam’s clinical programs are targeting a diverse array of indications beyond ATTR amyloidosis, including hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, complement-mediated diseases, metabolic disorders, and more. The company’s Alnylam 5×25 vision—an initiative aimed at launching five RNAi therapies by 2025—has already borne fruit, and the company is now laying the groundwork for its Alnylam P5x25 initiative focused on achieving sustainable innovation and impact beyond 2025.
This forward-looking strategy is rooted in a platform-based approach, leveraging core RNAi technologies, delivery systems like GalNAc conjugates, and deep expertise in target biology to rapidly advance candidate molecules. Under Dr. Garg’s leadership, the integration of early discovery with clinical development is expected to increase the success rate of programs and shorten the timeline from concept to clinical proof-of-concept.
A New Chapter for Alnylam and RNAi Science
With Dr. Garg at the helm of its integrated R&D operations, Alnylam is positioning itself for a new era of scientific innovation, therapeutic expansion, and organizational agility. As the company continues to validate RNAi as a transformative modality, it is doubling down on its commitment to patients—especially those suffering from diseases with limited or no treatment options.
This leadership transition marks more than a change in title—it signifies a strategic realignment of Alnylam’s internal resources to meet the increasingly complex demands of modern drug development. By bridging the gap between discovery and clinical translation, Alnylam is strengthening its ability to deliver breakthrough therapies more efficiently and with greater precision.
In an era where the lines between basic research, translational science, and commercial success are increasingly blurred, Dr. Pushkal Garg’s appointment as Chief Research and Development Officer represents Alnylam’s belief in the power of cohesive leadership, integrated systems, and a shared vision to unlock the full promise of RNA interference.
As Alnylam prepares for its next wave of innovation, one thing is clear: the company’s commitment to advancing science, accelerating discovery, and improving patient lives remains unwavering—and under Dr. Garg’s guidance, its future is poised to be even more transformative.
