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A Truly Special Place for Science

November 5, 2019

Nearly all biopharma companies will say that great science is at the heart of what they do. But what does that really mean? As a physician scientist and business leader at a company that in the past few years has begun the transition from biotech to commercial-stage biopharma, that's something I've thought quite a lot about because maintaining our focus on scientific innovation while also delivering our innovative therapies to patients and supporting them is now equally important.  

Recently, our company was named Science Magazine’s Top Employer for 2019 – a significant achievement in the scientific community and a true milestone for Alnylam. According to Science, the ranking is derived from a survey of more than 7,500 respondents, more than 95% of whom are working in biotech and pharma, so it’s uniquely gratifying that this honor reflects Alnylam’s regard among our peers.

As I reflect on this recognition and what it means to our company, I think back to what drew me to the company when I first joined 14 years ago.

At the time, Alnylam was a scrappy biotech (one of 493 created in the Boston area since 2002) founded on a fundamental scientific observation by a handful of incredibly smart and enthusiastic people who sought to do what most believed was “impossible.” Back then, with the science of RNA interference (RNAi) as raw as it was, most people would have said that to call early employees of Alnylam “optimists” was an understatement. The Nobel Prize that would acknowledge the scientific importance of the discovery of RNAi was still several years away! And yet, from the start of my interviews including a most memorable one with the renowned Dr. Mano Manoharan, who is still our head of Innovation Chemistry, I knew that Alnylam was a truly special place for science.

From the start, I knew that Alnylam was a truly special place for science.

Instead of peppering me with questions about my background for a half an hour, Mano just wanted to talk about the chemistry of RNAi and which diseases should be targeted. And so, for a full 90 minutes, that’s what we did.  I left Alnylam that day a true believer in the potential of the science, and knowing I had just found a group of kindred spirits who through intelligence and perseverance, were undoubtedly going to do the seemingly impossible work of translating raw science into medicines for people. I also knew that I very much wanted to be part of the future of RNA interference!

The team at Alnylam had good reason to believe that what they were doing would help to redefine the future of medicine – but how the R&D team functioned and worked together was critically important because there was so much to understand and solve for. When you’re translating a breakthrough discovery such as RNAi into a medicine, the odds are stacked against you. The stark reality is, only 22 or so of those nearly 500 companies in the Boston area have gone on to produce a commercial product.

Dr. Akshay Vaishnaw is Alnylam's Head of Research & Development

It took 16 years for us to solve the critical science – potency, stability, efficacy, safety and most critically, delivery to targeted cells. During that time, our passion, tenacity, commitment to scientific discovery and innovation and shared sense of urgency to get medicines to patients as quickly as possible provided the incremental successes need to eventually deliver our first commercially approved medicine in 2018, and the robust pipeline we enjoy today. Those same attributes, which were palpable that first day I met the team during my interviews, are what is propelling us into the future as a company and in my opinion, are a big part of what helped us score the top spot on Science Magazine’s Top Employers list.

It’s a very exhilarating time for science here at Alnylam. Even as we were preparing to launch our first medicine, our scientists were already writing the next chapters of our story – taking RNAi to new frontiers like researching potential treatments for diseases of the central nervous system and eye. We’re taking what we’ve learned from our rare disease programs and are applying them to more common diseases. Our passion for scientific discovery and the swift pace of our research are creating new vistas not only for our science, but for the medicines that we’ll ultimately deliver to patients.

It’s a very exhilarating time for science here at Alnylam. Even as we were preparing to launch our first medicine, our scientists were already writing the next chapters of our story – taking RNAi to new frontiers like researching potential treatments for diseases of the central nervous system and eye.

Being recognized as a scientific leader, and a top place to be a scientist, whether it’s by reputation, or ranking in Science, is incredibly important to us.  This is a great place to be a scientist, both because of the focus upon which we were founded but also because of the culture of scientific excellence we’ve worked hard to nurture and sustain. From associate scientists to leadership, everyone in our R&D organization (and our broader company) plays an incredibly important role in advancing the science of RNAi, both internally and in the broader scientific community.  

As the leader in RNAi therapeutics, we fundamentally believe it is our responsibility to advance the science and to share what we’ve learned. This means giving our scientists the freedom to explore new targets or delivery mechanisms and the ability to focus on their findings. It also means a deep commitment to scientific exchange and encouraging our scientists to publish and present their work in public forums. We’ve published nearly 250 articles to-date, which equates to roughly one article every month over the course of our 17 years! By investing in our own research and sharing our work with the wider community, we have the greatest opportunity to unleash the full potential of RNAi and make sure new medicines get to patients.

We fundamentally believe it is our responsibility to advance the science and to share what we’ve learned. This means giving our scientists the freedom to explore new targets or delivery mechanisms and the ability to focus on their findings.

We’re deeply honored and humbled that Science has recognized Alnylam as the Top Employer for 2019, the very first year we were included in the survey.  It tells me that people across our industry share in the belief that we have a culture worth celebrating and that we can accomplish great things when we follow the science and have a clear mission. I’m often reminded that culture isn't just a statement on a piece of paper or something written on a wall somewhere. These attributes – the grit, passion, urgency and deep commitment to scientific exploration and excellence – are the very things that we’ve had since day one and that we’ll continue to live and breathe every day.

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