Antisense News and Research

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Antisense is the non-coding strand in double-stranded DNA. The antisense strand serves as the template for mRNA synthesis.

CoDa Therapeutics reports positive results from Phase 2 study of NEXAGON for chronic venous leg ulcers

CoDa Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutics for wound care and tissue repair, today announced positive results from its Phase 2 NOVEL Study of NEXAGON® in patients with chronic venous leg ulcers. NEXAGON® is a topically applied, novel therapeutic candidate, with the potential to revolutionize the wound healing treatment paradigm by leveraging a new mechanism and target involved in the healing process.

25 May 2010

Trius awarded new DTRA contract for developing novel antibiotics against gram-negative bacterial pathogens

Trius Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that it has been awarded a new four and a half year contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), an agency within the U.S. Department of Defense, for the development of novel antibiotics directed against gram-negative bacterial pathogens. Trius may receive up to $29.5 million in support of development efforts under the new DTRA contract, which is funded as part of DTRA's Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI).

20 May 2010

Compugen discovers CGEN-928 as antibody drug target for treatment of multiple myeloma

Compugen Ltd. announced today the discovery and initial experimental validation of CGEN-928 as a drug target for the treatment of multiple myeloma. In recently completed studies, CGEN-928, a membrane protein which previously had no known function or potential clinical utility, demonstrated broad expression in human multiple myeloma tumor cells, including drug resistant and aggressive primary tumor cell lines.

12 May 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals reports net loss of $1.9M for first-quarter 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like Receptors, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

5 May 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announces EPO intent to grant notification for patent series covering RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a notification of an intent to grant for the "Manoharan II" patent series (EP Application No 04 718 537), titled "Therapeutic Compositions." The new patent includes 16 claims covering compositions and methods, including pharmaceutical compositions, for chemically modified siRNAs containing phosphorothioate and 2′-O-alkyl modifications without any siRNA length restrictions.

3 May 2010

Santaris Pharma advances into drug development SPC5001 research candidate against PCSK9

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today announced that it has advanced into drug development a discovery research candidate directed against PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9), an important new target for the treatment of high cholesterol. Using its proprietary Locked Nucleic Acid (LNA) Drug Platform and Drug Discovery Engine, Santaris Pharma A/S identified and advanced the new drug, SPC5001, in just 18 months.

26 Apr 2010

Radiolabeled hedgehog can differentiate stem-like cancer cells, identify aggressive tumors

At the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010, scientists and clinicians will present more than 6,300 abstracts dealing with innovative aspects of biology, technology and emerging therapies.

19 Apr 2010

Regulus Therapeutics' metabolic disease program data presented at Diabetes Keystone Symposium

Regulus Therapeutics Inc. today announced that new data from its metabolic disease program were presented at the "Diabetes" Keystone Symposium held April 12-17 in Whistler, British Columbia. The new pre-clinical research findings showed that therapeutic oligonucleotides targeting microRNA are able to improve insulin resistance and normalize plasma glucose in mouse models of diabetes while having no significant effect on glucose or insulin levels in normal mice.

16 Apr 2010

USPTO allows Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' new claims from Woppmann et al. patent series

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) has allowed a patent (Application No. 10/560,336) for the Woppmann et al. patent series, entitled "Double-stranded ribonucleic acid with increased effectiveness in an organism." The newly allowed patent includes 31 claims broadly covering compositions and methods, including pharmaceutical compositions, for small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), the molecules that mediate RNAi.

8 Apr 2010

MDA, FFSHR award $200,000 grant for developing FSH dystrophy therapy

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA), headquartered in Tucson, Ariz., and Friends of FSH Research (FFSHR), based in Kirkland, Wash., has jointly awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant to Dr. Joel Chamberlain, a research assistant professor of medical genetics at the University of Washington. The grant, equally funded by the two organizations, will enable the laboratory led by Dr. Chamberlain to study RNA interference as an investigative and therapeutic tool for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

7 Apr 2010

Isis Pharmaceuticals to lease new 176,000 square foot research facility from BioMed Realty Trust

BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. today announced that it has expanded its strategic real estate partnership with Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. BioMed extended its lease for Isis' current facility at Faraday Avenue in Carlsbad, California and added a lease for a new build-to-suit project, increasing the total leased space to approximately 204,700 square feet.

5 Apr 2010

GSK, Isis Pharmaceuticals collaborate to develop new therapeutics for rare and serious disease

GlaxoSmithKline and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today a new strategic alliance that will apply the Isis antisense drug discovery platform to seek out and develop new therapeutics against targets for rare and serious disease, including infectious diseases and some conditions causing blindness.

31 Mar 2010

BeaconEquity.com: AVI BioPharma's revenues for fourth-quarter of 2009 are $5.1M

BeaconEquity.com announces an investment report featuring biotech company AVI BioPharma Inc. The report includes financial, comparative and investment analyses, and pertinent industry information you need to know to make an educated investment decision.

18 Mar 2010

Genzyme, Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 study of mipomersen in hoFH patients meets primary endpoint

Genzyme Corp. and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that data from a phase 3 study of mipomersen in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH) were published in The Lancet. This study met its primary endpoint, resulting in an average LDL-C reduction of greater than 100 mg/dL in this very high-risk patient population.

16 Mar 2010

Bio-Path Holdings' liposomal Grb-2 IND receives FDA clearance to proceed into clinical trials

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company with drug development operations in Houston, Texas, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed an IND (Investigational New Drug) for the Company’s lead cancer drug candidate liposomal Grb-2 to proceed into clinical trials.

15 Mar 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals announces net income of $3.9M for fourth-quarter 2009

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009.

10 Mar 2010

Acceptance of initial regulatory filings for BMS-PCSK9Rx triggers $6M milestone payment to Isis Pharmaceuticals

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has earned a $6 million milestone payment from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company related to the acceptance of initial regulatory filings to begin Phase 1 clinical studies for BMS-PCSK9Rx. BMS-PCSK9Rx is an antisense drug that arose out of the ongoing collaboration between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Isis to identify antisense drugs targeting PCSK9 to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

8 Mar 2010

Phase 1 clinical study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with Lou Gehrig's disease commenced

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1 study of ISIS-SOD1Rx in patients with an inherited, aggressive form of Lou Gehrig's disease also known as familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

5 Mar 2010

Isis Pharmaceuticals reports revenues of $32.3M for fourth-quarter 2009

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced its 2009 financial results and reviewed the highlights of the year. Isis achieved its 2009 financial guidance with pro forma net income of $166.9 million and a pro forma net operating loss (NOL) of $14.2 million compared with its guidance for the year of pro forma net income of more than $145 million and a pro forma NOL in the low to mid $20 million range. Isis also achieved its cash guidance by ending 2009 with $574.3 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments significantly in excess of the $550 million projected.

1 Mar 2010

Peer-reviewed articles elucidate role of clusterin in promoting tumor resistance to cancer treatment

OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that two peer-reviewed articles have been published that further elucidate the biological function of clusterin, its role in promoting tumor resistance to cancer treatment, and the role of an inhibitor of clusterin such as custirsen (OGX-011) that is designed to knock down treatment resistance in the cells and enhance the effectiveness of cancer therapies.