Gene Silencing News and Research

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Horizon Discovery, Sirion Biotech ink supply and distribution agreement

Horizon Discovery, a leading provider of research tools to support translational genomics and the development of personalized medicines, today announced it has signed a supply and distribution agreement with Sirion Biotech GmbH.

17 Feb 2014

RNA interference approach holds great promise for treating cancer and other diseases

Inspired by tiny particles that carry cholesterol through the body, MIT chemical engineers have designed nanoparticles that can deliver snippets of genetic material that turn off disease-causing genes.

12 Feb 2014

Breakthrough technology could provide new approach for treatment of chronic wounds

A team of researchers led by an NIBIB grantee at Vanderbilt University has created a biodegradable scaffold that enables sustained, local delivery of gene-silencing factors called siRNA to promote tissue regeneration. The team recently used the scaffold to successfully deliver siRNA to mice in order to locally silence a gene normally responsible for inhibiting blood vessel formation.

20 Jan 2014

Mirimus develops enhanced tools for reversible gene suppression

Over the last decades, RNA interference (RNAi) has become an indispensable tool for functional genetic studies by harnessing the power of a cell intrinsic mechanism enabling reversible gene silencing.

17 Dec 2013

Alnylam initiates Phase II study with ALN-TTRsc for treatment of ATTR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has initiated a pilot Phase II study with ALN-TTRsc, a subcutaneously delivered RNAi therapeutic targeting the transthyretin gene in development for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

17 Dec 2013

New discovery could help combat spread of sleeping sickness

A new discovery by scientists could help combat the spread of sleeping sickness.

15 Dec 2013

Scientists unveil novel piece of puzzle of cancer cell DNA repair mechanisms

Research with a Finnish background facilitates the development of more effective cancer medication. Cancer cells have an exceptional ability to repair damage to their DNA caused during uncontrolled cell division.

10 Dec 2013

Alnylam presents new pre-clinical data with ALN-AT3 for treatment of hemophilia and RBD

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has presented new pre-clinical data with ALN-AT3, a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting antithrombin (AT) for the treatment of hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders (RBD), at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) held December 7 - 10, 2013 in New Orleans.

10 Dec 2013

Brown University biologists find way to measure effects of aging

Biologists at Brown University have found a way to measure the effects of aging by watching the ebb and flow of chromatin, a structure along strands of DNA that either silences or permits gene expression. In several newly published experiments they show that gene silencing via chromatin in fruit flies declines with age.

21 Nov 2013

Heidelberg scientists identify protein motifs that influence gene silencing

Bioscientists at Heidelberg University have studied the function of certain proteins, known as Argonaute (Ago) proteins, in the process of gene regulation. They sought to understand why only the Ago2 protein is able to target and directly turn off genes in humans, while the closely related Ago3 protein is not.

16 Nov 2013

Researchers identify novel therapeutic approach for most frequent genetic cause of ALS

A team of scientists led by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have identified a novel therapeutic approach for the most frequent genetic cause of ALS, a disorder of the regions of the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement, and frontal temporal degeneration, the second most frequent dementia.

10 Nov 2013

HSCI researchers discover on-off switch for gene expression

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers have settled a century-old debate over whether occurrence of DNA methylation acts to silence gene expression, or if genes are turned off by other means before they are methylated.

11 Oct 2013

Alnylam advances Development Candidate for ALN-AS1 for treatment of hepatic porphyrias

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it is advancing its Development Candidate for ALN-AS1, an RNAi therapeutic targeting aminolevulinate synthase-1 (ALAS-1) for the treatment of hepatic porphyrias including acute intermittent porphyria (AIP).

9 Oct 2013

Metabolic enzymes in opium poppy are used to produce valuable painkilling drugs

University of Calgary scientists have discovered metabolic enzymes in the opium poppy that play "widespread roles" in enabling the plant to make painkilling morphine and codeine, and other important compounds.

5 Oct 2013

FDA grants Orphan Drug Designation to Alnylam ALN-AT3 for treatment of hemophilia B

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has granted an Orphan Drug Designation to ALN-AT3 as a therapeutic for the treatment of hemophilia B.

17 Aug 2013

Alnylam releases positive top-line data from ALN-TTRsc Phase I trial for TTR-mediated amyloidosis

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today positive top-line results from its ongoing Phase I trial of ALN-TTRsc, a subcutaneously administered RNAi therapeutic targeting the transthyretin gene for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis.

12 Jul 2013

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals presents new pre-clinical data of ALN-AT3 at ISTH meeting

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has presented new pre-clinical data from its RNAi therapeutic program for the treatment of hemophilia and rare bleeding disorders.

2 Jul 2013

Study suggests new ways to maximize delivery of RNA strands

Nanoparticles that deliver short strands of RNA offer a way to treat cancer and other diseases by shutting off malfunctioning genes. Although this approach has shown some promise, scientists are still not sure exactly what happens to the nanoparticles once they get inside their target cells.

25 Jun 2013

Alnylam presents new pre-clinical data of ALN-CC5 for treatment of complement-mediated diseases

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has presented new pre-clinical data with ALN-CC5, an RNAi therapeutic targeting complement component C5.

21 Jun 2013

Bioapplications of nanoparticles: an interview with Dr Catherine Berry, University of Glasgow

These particles are all classed as inorganic particles, which can all be utilised in biomedical applications. They differ in terms of their inherent material and size dependent physiochemical properties, for example, their optical and magnetic properties.

18 Jun 2013