Preliminary results in a small, early-stage trial don’t usually generate a lot of excitement, but Alnylam Pharmaceuticals says it believes it has shown its experimental RNAi therapy to treat a rare genetic disorder marks the first time that RNAi has been shown to silence a disease-causing gene in humans. Though the technology generated much excitement among large pharmaceutical companies several years ago, RNAi fell out of favor as it proved difficult to deliver the therapy to targets within the body. We spoke to Barry Greene, president and COO for Alnylam, about the results, how it advances the company’s efforts to remake itself into a product rather than a platform company, and what it will take to once again capture the imagination of investors and pharmaceutical companies.

The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets, and other business mishaps.

Merck will pay $950 million to settle criminal and civil charges related to the improper promotion and marketing of the painkiller Vioxx. The U.S. Department of Justice say Merck will pay $321.6 million in criminal fines and $628.4 as part of a civil settlement. The company also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that it marketed Vioxx for off-label use.

In recent months there have been a number of healthcare venture capital firms that have said they will stop investing in the space. Others are scaling back their plans for investment in the area. These firms blame such things as regulatory uncertainty and reimbursement concerns for their departures. Lisa Suennen, co-founder and managing member of Psilos Group, discussed the trend in a recent piece she wrote online. We talked to her about what’s driving venture investors from the space, what’s at stake, and why she thinks the turmoil in healthcare means big opportunities for investors.

The weekly round-up of failed trials, missed targets, and other business mishaps.

Scott Reuben, former chief of acute pain at a hospital in Massachusetts who pleaded guilty in 2010 to healthcare fraud, has been permanently debarred from providing services in any capacity to a person that has an approved or pending drug product application. In addition to the debarring order, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also will not accept or review any abbreviated new drug application submitted by or with Reuben’s assistance.

Companies resolve legal dispute and terminate long-standing alliance on type-2 diabetes drug. 

Amylin Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly are ending a ten year partnership that resulted in the development and commercialization of Byetta (exenatide) the first in a new class of type 2 diabetes when it was first approved in 2005.

New strategies are needed for the 21st century. 

Risk management cannot exist without a more holistic understanding and acceptance of the responsibility of risk. It means more than Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies and tactics, more than validated methodologies and therapeutic registries. It’s not about the management of risk—it’s about assuming the mantle of responsibility.

Offering in Hong Kong could raise up to $2 billion. 

China National Biotech Group, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group, or Sinopharm Group, is planning to raise $1.5 billion to $2 billion in an initial public offering in Hong Kong in the first half of 2012, according to various reports.

The world hit a milestone earlier this month as the total number of people now living on planet Earth reached 7 billion. At the same time, Baby Boomers this year began crossing the threshold of retirement age. We spoke to David Foot, professor of economics at the University of Toronto, about these demographic trends, what they mean for healthcare, and whether policymakers and drugmakers are paying enough attention to these trends to plan for the future. Please note there are brief moments during this interview where technical difficulties during this interview caused us to lose brief moments.