Small Interfering RNA (siRNA) News and Research

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New siRNA treatment reduces damaging inflammation in animals models of several disorders

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers - along with collaborators from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals - have found a way to block, in an animal model, the damaging inflammation that contributes to many disease conditions.

10 Oct 2011

Human kinome RNAi screening performed using Roche’s xCELLigence MP Instrument

RNA interference studies are a powerful technology for high-throughput screening. However, endpoint analyses only provide a snapshot of the analyzed cellular phenotype, as it is not possible to measure developmental changes over time.

29 Jul 2011

Research solves challenging problem of industry-scale production of large RNA molecules

Nanotechnology researchers have known for years that RNA, the cousin of DNA, is a promising tool for nanotherapy, in which therapeutic agents can be delivered inside the body via nanoparticles. But the difficulties of producing long-lasting, therapeutic RNA that remains stable and non-toxic while entering targeted cells have posed challenges for their progress.

22 Apr 2011

Tekmira begins patient dosing in TKM-PLK1 phase 1 trail for cancer

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a leading developer of RNA interference therapeutics, announced today it has initiated patient dosing in a Phase 1 human clinical trial for its lead oncology product, TKM-PLK1. TKM-PLK1 targets polo-like kinase 1, or PLK1, a cell cycle protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and a validated oncology target.

22 Dec 2010

Silencing the TLR4 gene can prevent cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients

Silencing the TLR4 gene can stop the process which may lead to cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Researchers demonstrated that TLR4 plays a critical role in hyperglycaemic cardiac apoptosis, and that silencing the gene using specific small interfering RNA can prevent it.

10 Dec 2010

Sirnaomics cemented partnership with Chinese pharmaceutical to develop siRNA therapeutics

Sirnaomics, Inc. announced today that the company has cemented a partnership with a Chinese pharmaceutical company for development of its small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutic (STP705) for scarless wound healing.

3 Dec 2010

USPTO, EPO issue key patents for Tekmira's LNP technology

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a leading developer of RNA interference therapeutics, announced today that the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO) have issued key patents covering elements of Tekmira's leading lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology, which is used to deliver nucleic acid therapeutics, including small interfering RNA (siRNA).

23 Nov 2010

Altogen Biosystems releases PEG-Liposome siRNA In Vivo Transfection Kit

Altogen Biosystems announced the release of its second generation of in vivo RNAi transfection reagent in the company's popular in vivo delivery product line: PEG-Liposome siRNA In Vivo Transfection Kit. This reagent is also compatible for in vivo transfection of other negatively charged molecules – RNA, DNA, and small proteins.

22 Oct 2010

Study demonstrates why targeted therapies do not work in majority of people

In order for targeted therapies against cancer to be effective, scientists need to understand upfront what related proteins in a signaling "network" makes a cancer cell resistant to a drug and selectively target them as well, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Fox Chase Cancer Center.

22 Sep 2010

Nanoparticle-based gene silencing system inhibits angiogenesis process in tumor growth

A protein associated with cancer progression when abundant inside of tumors also unexpectedly regulates the creation of new blood vessels that feed the tumor outside, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in the August edition of Cancer Cell.

17 Aug 2010

Sirnaomics receives NIH SBIR grants to advance siRNA therapeutics for critical human diseases

Sirnaomics, Inc. announced today that the company has received two SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grants from National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), of National Institute of Health (NIH). Sirnaomics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company founded in early 2007, is dedicated to developing RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics for treatment of critical human diseases.

30 Jun 2010

Researchers develop new approach to immunotherapy of cancer

Harnessing the immune system is emerging as one of the most promising new ways to fight cancer. Most cancer cells are eliminated by the immune system; however, over a lifetime, a few may escape this immune surveillance and lead to tumors and metastases. Hence a formidable opportunity has been to find ways to make the immune system recognize the tumor as a foreign body and trigger a response.

13 May 2010

Multistage nanovector system for siRNA delivery lengthens therapeutic effects of ovarian cancer treatment

New research by scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center could make it easier for patients to use a family of promising experimental cancer therapeutics known as small interfering RNA (siRNA).

6 May 2010

Tumor cell factories may be difficult to defeat: Researchers

Many of the colon cancer cells that form tumors can be killed by genetically short-circuiting the cells' ability to absorb a key nutrient, a new study has found. While the findings are encouraging, the test tube study using human colon cancer cells also illustrates the difficulty of defeating these cells, known as cancer stem cells.

29 Apr 2010

Silence Therapeutics, AstraZeneca announce one-year extension of ongoing siRNA delivery collaboration

Silence Therapeutics plc announces that the Company and AstraZeneca have agreed to a one-year extension of their ongoing small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery collaboration. Under this collaboration, which was originally entered into in March 2008, the companies are leveraging a number of Silence's proprietary lipid delivery and targeting technologies to develop new and enhanced delivery approaches for RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics.

21 Apr 2010

Stress hormones may suppress tumor growth: Study

Chronic stress triggers a chain of molecular events that protects breakaway ovarian cancer cells from destruction, a team of researchers led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports April 12 in the early online publication of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

13 Apr 2010

Silence Therapeutics, Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma announce expansion of siRNA delivery collaboration

Silence Therapeutics plc today announced that the company and Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. have agreed to an expansion of their ongoing small interfering RNA (siRNA) delivery collaboration. Under this collaboration, which was originally entered into in August 2009, the companies are leveraging Silence's proprietary siRNA molecules and multiple lipid delivery and targeting technologies to demonstrate functional delivery of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics to specific disease targets in the body.

30 Mar 2010

Researchers adopt new technique to inhibit cancer growth

One of the difficulties of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit other non-cancerous cells, causing patients to get sick. But what if researchers could sneak cancer-fighting particles into just the cancer cells?

17 Feb 2010

Silence Therapeutics strengthens patent portfolio of RNAi therapeutics in solid tumor treatment

Silence Therapeutics plc today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued the company a notice of allowance on a patent application directed to methods of treatment using a high-value therapeutic target in the area of oncology. Known as PKN-3, the target is a protein kinase C-related molecule that is believed to play an important role in the growth of cancer cells, as well as metastasis formation.

8 Feb 2010

Sirnaomics certifies polypeptide nanoparticle technology

Sirnaomics, Inc. (www.sirnaomics.com) announced today that the company has licensed a polypeptide nanoparticle technology invented by Professor A. James Mixson of University of Maryland Medical School.

18 Jan 2010