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Quark reports results from QPI-1007 siRNA drug study in rat ocular hypertension model of glaucoma

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced results from a second study of QPI-1007, a neuroprotective siRNA drug, in rat ocular hypertension model of glaucoma, conducted by Prof. Adriana Di Polo of the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Universite de Montreal.

29 Jun 2010

Quark Pharmaceuticals' siRNA drug candidates featured in two presentations at Glaucoma & Retinopathies 2010

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced that two of its siRNA drug candidates were featured in the following two presentations at the Glaucoma & Retinopathies 2010 conference, which was held June 21-22, 2010 in London, UK.

25 Jun 2010

Alnylam presents data on novel delivery lipids at IBC 6th Annual Cell Line Development and Engineering conference

Alnylam Biotherapeutics, a division of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the presentation of new data at the IBC 6th Annual Cell Line Development and Engineering conference held in San Francisco, California from June 21 - 24, 2010.

24 Jun 2010

USPTO awards Alnylam Notice of Allowance for patent covering methods of inhibiting expression of mutant genes

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has awarded a Notice of Allowance for the "John et al." patent (Application No. 10/384,463), which covers methods of inhibiting mutant genes with double-stranded RNAs from 19 to 30 nucleotides in length.

18 Jun 2010

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Alnylam collaborate to develop microRNA-based attenuated influenza viruses

Mount Sinai School of Medicine has completed an exclusive option agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a leading RNAi therapeutics company, for intellectual property related to RNAi applications in vaccine development. These new applications of RNAi technology define opportunities for the advancement of novel vaccines in infectious disease.

18 Jun 2010

European Commission grants Orphan Medicinal Product Designation for QPI-1002

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced that the European Commission has granted Orphan Medicinal Product Designation for QPI-1002 (also referred to as "I5NP") for the prophylaxis of delayed graft function in kidney transplant patients.

16 Jun 2010

USPTO issues patent covering methods for enhancing RNA silencing activity of RNAi agents

Silence Therapeutics plc announces the issuance of United States patent 7,732,593, titled Methods and Compositions For Controlling Efficacy of RNA Silencing, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The issued patent, which is based on the seminal research of Phillip D. Zamore, Ph.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, the Gretchen Stone Cook Chair of Biomedical Sciences, and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Pharmacology at University of Massachusetts Medical School, generally claims methods of enhancing the RNA silencing activity of RNA interference (RNAi) agents through certain structural modifications.

14 Jun 2010

RXi announces new RNAi therapeutic strategy at Jefferies 2010 Global Life Sciences Conference

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a recognized leader in RNAi-based therapeutic discovery and development, today announced the company's new focused RNAi therapeutic strategy at the Jefferies 2010 Global Life Sciences Conference.

11 Jun 2010

Quark Pharmaceuticals closes $10M private financing round

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a world leader in the discovery and development of RNAi-based therapeutics, today announced the closing of a private financing by the existing investors of Quark totaling an aggregate of $10 million. The investors are funds of the prestigious SBI Holdings Group in Japan. In connection with the financing, Mr. Yoshitaka Kitao, CEO of SBI Holdings, Inc. and Mr. Robert Takeuchi, Director of SBI Investment Co., Ltd. will become members of the Quark board of directors.

10 Jun 2010

Nativis awarded patents in Japan, China, India for drug signal technology

Nativis, Inc., a La Jolla, Calif.-based life science company, has been issued patents in Japan, China and India for its innovative technology that captures the unique signals of approved drugs at the atomic level and then delivers the signal in a solution to treat serious illnesses. The technology, which also has U.S., Canadian and Australian patents, promises to transform the treatment of diseases, including those for which there are no known cures, such as brain cancer.

10 Jun 2010

NexGen Biomedical offers RNAi / PSR platform technology for sale

NexGen Biomedical, Inc. announced today that it is offering its RNAi / PSR platform technology for sale. "While technologies like siRNA are well suited for disease conditions involving expression of a single protein, the RNAi / PSR technology is better suited for conditions involving expression of a broad spectrum of proteins such as happens with cell hyperproliferation, inflammation, and viral infections.

8 Jun 2010

Alnylam presents interim data from ALN-VSP02 Phase I trial for liver cancer at ASCO 2010

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today preliminary clinical data from its ongoing Phase I trial with ALN-VSP, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of advanced solid tumors with liver involvement.

7 Jun 2010

Royal Philips Electronics, RXi Pharmaceuticals sign joint research agreement

Royal Philips Electronics and RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a US-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced that they have entered into a joint research agreement to explore the benefits of combining proprietary technologies from both companies for the targeted delivery of experimental therapeutics based on RNA interference.

4 Jun 2010

Alnylam, Mount Sinai scientists discover svRNAs that play a critical role in influenza A virus replication

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the publication of new research findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by Alnylam scientists and collaborators from Mount Sinai School of Medicine. In the new study, Alnylam and Mount Sinai scientists discovered a novel class of virus-produced small non-coding RNAs, called small viral RNAs (svRNAs), which play a critical role in the replication of influenza A virus.

2 Jun 2010

RNAi therapy shuts down gene critical to RSV, prevents virus replication

John DeVincenzo, MD, professor and researcher in the Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has proven for the first time that a totally new concept in drug design can be used to treat human disease. Dr. DeVincenzo, who also serves as a children's infectious diseases specialist at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, conducted his study at the Children's Foundation Research Center, a UT Health Science Center partner located at Le Bonheur.

29 May 2010

Study demonstrates protection against Ebola infection in nonhuman primates using RNAi

Scientists using tiny particles of genetic material to interfere in the replication process of the deadly Ebola virus have successfully prevented monkeys exposed to that virus from dying of hemorrhagic fever. The proof-of-concept study, published in this week's issue of The Lancet, suggests that such protection also should be possible in humans.

29 May 2010

Researchers report key cellular pathway in deadly brain cancer malignant glioma

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School report in the journal Nature Medicine on a cellular pathway in the deadly brain cancer malignant glioma, a pathway essential to the cancer's ability to grow - and a potential target for therapy that would stop the cancer's ability to thrive.

26 May 2010

Silence Therapeutics deepens diverse portfolio of RNAi intellectual property

Silence Therapeutics plc announces the issuance of United States patent 7,723,316, titled Compositions and Methods of RNAi Therapeutics For Treatment of Cancer and Other Neovascularization Disease, by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

26 May 2010

EPO rules in favor of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ Kreutzer-Limmer '945 patent

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that the Board of Appeals of the European Patent Office (EPO) has ruled that claims of the Kreutzer-Limmer '945 (EP 1214945) patent meet needed requirements under European patent law. The '945 patent comprises broad claims covering the length and certain structural requirements for siRNAs that are important for advancement of RNAi therapeutics.

20 May 2010

Arrowhead decreases second-quarter consolidated operating expenses by 58%

Arrowhead Research Corporation today announced financial results for its fiscal 2010 second quarter ended March 31, 2010.

13 May 2010