GENESIS Pharma and Alnylam Expand Strategic Partnership to Bring RNAi Therapies to Nordic Markets
GENESIS Pharma has announced a significant expansion of its long-standing collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, further strengthening the relationship between the two companies and broadening patient access to innovative RNA interference (RNAi) therapies across Europe. The new agreement extends the geographical scope of the partnership beyond Southeast Europe to include four Nordic countries—Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden—marking an important milestone in the companies’ shared mission to deliver advanced treatments for serious and rare diseases.
Under the expanded arrangement, GENESIS Pharma will be responsible for the commercialization of a portfolio of Alnylam’s RNAi-based therapies across the newly added Nordic markets, in addition to the thirteen Southeast European countries already covered under the partnership. The portfolio includes treatments targeting severe cardiomyopathy conditions and rare genetic disorders, areas where patients often face limited therapeutic options and substantial unmet medical needs.
The agreement reflects both organizations’ confidence in the success of their collaboration over the past several years and underscores their commitment to ensuring broader access to innovative medicines throughout Europe.
Building on a Successful Partnership
The relationship between GENESIS Pharma and Alnylam began in 2019 when the companies established a commercial partnership focused on Southeast Europe. At the time, the collaboration aimed to improve patient access to Alnylam’s groundbreaking RNAi therapeutics in markets where access to innovative biotechnology treatments can sometimes lag behind larger Western European countries.
Since its inception, the partnership has steadily evolved in both scale and scope. What started as a regional commercialization agreement has expanded to encompass additional therapies and a growing number of countries.
Today, the collaboration covers Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Malta, and Kosovo. Through this network, the companies have worked together to support healthcare professionals, engage with health authorities, and facilitate patient access to innovative therapies across diverse healthcare systems.
The latest expansion into the Nordic region represents the most significant geographic growth of the partnership to date and demonstrates the trust both organizations have developed through years of successful cooperation.
Expanding Access to RNAi Therapeutics
RNA interference technology has emerged as one of the most promising advancements in modern medicine. Unlike traditional treatments that often target proteins after they are produced, RNAi therapeutics work at an earlier stage by silencing specific disease-causing genes, thereby preventing the production of harmful proteins.
This mechanism has opened new possibilities for treating diseases that were previously difficult to address through conventional therapeutic approaches.
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is widely recognized as a pioneer and global leader in the RNAi field. Over the past two decades, the company has helped establish RNA interference as a validated therapeutic platform and has developed multiple approved medicines that target serious and rare diseases.
Through the expanded partnership, patients across Southeast Europe and the Nordic region will gain access to therapies designed to treat complex conditions, including hereditary and genetic disorders as well as cardiomyopathy-related diseases.
These conditions often require specialized treatment approaches and long-term management, making access to innovative therapies particularly important for improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
By extending the collaboration into Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, the companies aim to bring these advanced treatment options to a broader patient population while supporting healthcare systems seeking innovative solutions for rare and chronic diseases.
Strategic Importance of the Nordic Expansion
The Nordic countries are recognized globally for their advanced healthcare systems, strong commitment to medical innovation, and emphasis on patient-centered care.
Expanding into these markets represents an important strategic opportunity for both companies.
For Alnylam, the move supports its broader objective of making RNAi therapies accessible to patients worldwide. While the company maintains operations in major pharmaceutical markets, partnerships with regional experts such as GENESIS Pharma enable it to reach additional countries efficiently while benefiting from local expertise and established healthcare relationships.
For GENESIS Pharma, the expansion significantly strengthens its presence across Europe and represents a major step forward in its strategy of becoming a leading regional biopharmaceutical partner for innovative medicines.
The addition of the Nordic countries broadens the company’s operational footprint and further establishes it as a trusted commercialization partner capable of supporting advanced biotechnology products across diverse healthcare environments.
The move also reflects the increasing importance of cross-border collaboration within the European healthcare landscape, where pharmaceutical companies are seeking innovative approaches to accelerate access to breakthrough therapies.
Shared Commitment to Patients
Both organizations emphasized that the driving force behind the expanded agreement is the desire to improve outcomes for patients and families affected by serious diseases.
Norton Oliveira, Senior Vice President and Head of Partner and Emerging Markets at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, highlighted the strength of the existing collaboration and expressed enthusiasm about extending the partnership into the Nordic region.
According to Oliveira, the companies have built a strong and successful relationship over the years, creating a foundation that supports further expansion. He noted that Alnylam remains committed to delivering transformative benefits to patients around the world and believes that working with GENESIS Pharma will help bring innovative RNAi therapies to even more individuals who could benefit from them.
He emphasized that expanding access to these medicines can make a meaningful difference for patients and families facing serious health challenges.
Strengthening GENESIS Pharma’s European Presence
For GENESIS Pharma, the expanded partnership aligns closely with the company’s long-term vision of advancing biotechnology innovation throughout Europe.
Founded more than three decades ago, the company has built its reputation on introducing innovative therapies to markets where access to cutting-edge medicines can be limited. Over the years, it has developed expertise in regulatory affairs, market access, commercialization, and stakeholder engagement across multiple countries.
Constantinos Evripides, Managing Director of GENESIS Pharma, described the Nordic expansion as a major milestone in the company’s relationship with Alnylam.
He noted that since 2019 the two organizations have worked closely to ensure access to innovative therapies throughout Southeast Europe. The addition of Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden further strengthens the partnership while supporting GENESIS Pharma’s broader goal of expanding its presence across Europe.
Evripides emphasized that the company’s strategy is rooted in combining world-class scientific innovation with deep regional expertise. By leveraging Alnylam’s leadership in RNAi technology and GENESIS Pharma’s understanding of local healthcare systems, the partnership aims to bring innovative treatments closer to patients who need them most.
He also expressed appreciation for the confidence that Alnylam has placed in GENESIS Pharma and its employees, describing the expanded agreement as a reflection of the trust developed through years of collaboration.
Advancing Innovation Across Europe
The expanded partnership highlights a broader trend within the pharmaceutical industry toward strategic collaborations that combine scientific innovation with regional commercialization expertise.
As biotechnology advances continue to generate novel therapies for rare and complex diseases, ensuring patient access has become an increasingly important component of healthcare innovation. Partnerships such as the one between GENESIS Pharma and Alnylam help bridge the gap between scientific discovery and real-world patient benefit.
By extending their collaboration to include four Nordic countries while maintaining their strong presence across Southeast Europe, the two companies are creating a broader platform for delivering RNAi therapeutics throughout the continent.
With an expanded geographic reach, a growing portfolio of innovative medicines, and a shared commitment to addressing unmet medical needs, GENESIS Pharma and Alnylam are positioning themselves to make a greater impact on patients, healthcare providers, and healthcare systems across Europe. The strengthened alliance represents another step forward in bringing cutting-edge genetic medicines to those who need them most, while reinforcing the role of partnership-driven innovation in shaping the future of healthcare.
About RNAi
RNAi (RNA interference) is a natural cellular process of gene silencing that represents one of the most promising and rapidly advancing frontiers in biology and drug development today.1 Its discovery has been heralded as “a major scientific breakthrough that happens once every decade or so,” and was recognized with the award of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.2 By harnessing the natural biological process of RNAi occurring in our cells, a new class of medicines known as RNAi therapeutics is now a reality.
Small interfering RNA (siRNA), the molecules that mediate RNAi and comprise Alnylam’s RNAi therapeutic platform, function upstream of today’s medicines by potently silencing messenger RNA (mRNA) – the genetic precursors – that encode for disease-causing or disease pathway proteins, thus preventing them from being made.1 This is a revolutionary approach with the potential to transform the care of patients with genetic and other diseases.
About GENESIS Pharma
GENESIS Pharma is a European biopharma company focused on the commercialization of innovative biopharmaceutical products targeting severe and rare diseases, currently covering 24 countries in Europe. Established in 1997, GENESIS Pharma was among the first pharmaceutical companies in the region to specialize in the marketing, sales and distribution of biopharmaceutical products. GENESIS Pharma maintains a strong portfolio in therapeutic areas with high unmet medical need through long standing strategic alliances with some of the leading global biopharma companies.
