Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY), ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ISIS), Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): RNAi Companies to Consider

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has acquisition power

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has a pretty decent pipeline, but has struggled lately compared to other big pharmaceutical companies. For instance, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) has been forced to shut down certain divisions due to lack of innovation in drug therapies. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s worldwide sales had dropped 2% in 2012, and it doesn’t seem like it will pick up anytime soon. Even though Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had acquisition problems in the past, it should take a look at acquiring a biotech company to boost its pipeline.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) should attempt to go after ISIS, and there are two reasons behind it. For starters, RNA technology is different now than it was in the past. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) had acquired Sirna Therapeutics which dealt with antisense and oligonucleotide technology. Merck had spent $1.1 billion in 2006 to acquire Sirna, but till date the acquisition hasn’t shown any true value. Now is the time for Merck to acquire ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS) as RNA technology is coming more into play this year. The second reason is that ISIS has one amazing pipeline! If you compare ISIS’ pipeline against other biotech companies, you will be amazed.

Final thought

These two RNA companies have found a way to bypass the delivery failures in the past. With this new research, a lot of RNA companies can be good investments for those seeking a long term speculative play. RNA can be proven to help the biotech industry, and may later be acquired by big pharma. Whether these trials are ultimately realized remains to be seen, but it wouldn’t hurt to have one speculative RNA type biotech in your portfolio. You never know how the industry will change, and you may be the first to see a revolution of RNA therapies making progress.

The article RNAi Companies to Consider originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Terry Chrisomalis.

Terry Chrisomalis has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Terry is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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