NATURE OF BUSINESS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

NATURE OF BUSINESS

NATURE OF BUSINESS

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (also referred to as Alnylam, we, our or us) commenced operations on June 14, 2002 as a biopharmaceutical company seeking to develop and commercialize novel therapeutics based on RNA interference, or RNAi. We are committed to the advancement of our company strategy of building a multi-product, global, commercial biopharmaceutical company with a deep and sustainable clinical pipeline of RNAi therapeutics for future growth and a robust, organic research engine for sustainable innovation and great potential for patient impact. Since inception, we have focused on discovering, developing and commercializing RNAi therapeutics by establishing and maintaining a strong intellectual property position in the RNAi field, establishing strategic alliances with leading pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, generating revenues through licensing agreements, and ultimately developing and commercializing RNAi therapeutics globally, either independently or with our strategic partners. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts to business planning, research, development, manufacturing and early commercial efforts, acquiring, filing and expanding intellectual property rights, recruiting management and technical staff, and raising capital.

In August 2018, we received approval for ONPATTRO from the United States Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and began commercializing and generating product revenues in the U.S. As of December 31, 2019, we have launched ONPATTRO in the U.S., Japan, Canada and in several countries in Europe. In November 2019, we received approval for GIVLAARI from the FDA and began commercializing and generating product revenues in the U.S. in December 2019. Regulatory filings in additional markets are pending or planned for 2020 and beyond for both commercial products.