siRNA News and Research

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Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA or silencing RNA, is a class of double-stranded RNA molecules, 20-25 nucleotides in length, that play a variety of roles in biology. Most notably, siRNA is involved in the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway, where it interferes with the expression of a specific gene. In addition to their role in the RNAi pathway, siRNAs also act in RNAi-related pathways, e.g., as an antiviral mechanism or in shaping the chromatin structure of a genome; the complexity of these pathways is only now being elucidated.

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

Lipid-based nanocarrier can improve cancer treatments

Scientists seeking to improve cancer treatments have created a tiny drug transporter that maximizes its ability to silence damaging genes by finding the equivalent of an expressway into a target cell.

27 Jul 2011

'Core-shell' nanoparticles for effective intracellular delivery of RNAi therapeutics

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, together with collaborators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), announced today the publication of new paper describing discovery of "core-shell" nanoparticles for systemic delivery of RNAi therapeutics.

26 Jul 2011

Altogen Labs introduces pyrosequencing services for hospitals, research institutions

Altogen Labs, a biology contract research organization and provider of pre-clinical research services, announced its launch of a pyrosequencing service today.

20 Jul 2011

Alnylam seeks CTA clearance to initiate ALN-PCS Phase I clinical trial for severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase I clinical trial with ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

11 Jul 2011

VENENUM opens new medicinal chemistry facility in Hamilton, NJ

VENENUM Biodesign, a drug discovery company that utilizes ultra-high throughput screening (UHTS) of its compound collection to identify potential therapeutic agents against its novel disease-based targets, or its partners' targets, announced today that it opened its new medicinal chemistry space at 8 Black Forest Road in Hamilton, NJ.

22 Jun 2011

Genomic study identifies MCU that regulates calcium transport into mitochondria

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and collaborators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Broad Institute, and the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), today announced new findings published in Nature.

20 Jun 2011

Alnylam's ALN-VSP Phase I trial data on liver cancer presented at ASCO 2011

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

6 Jun 2011

Scientists demonstrate why B cells exposed to chronic HIV shut down, how they can be reactivated

Scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have demonstrated why certain immune cells chronically exposed to HIV shut down, and how they can be reactivated.

4 Jun 2011

Decreasing iron-storing protein expression can enhance action of brain cancer therapy: Researchers

Brain cancer therapy may be more effective if the expression of an iron-storing protein is decreased to enhance the action of therapeutic drugs on brain cancer cells, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

4 Jun 2011

Idera Pharmaceuticals' preclinical data on novel GSO technology presented at TIDES 2011

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the presentation of preclinical data of its novel gene-silencing oligonucleotide technology including observations that demonstrate GSOs exert gene-silencing activity through a similar cellular pathway as siRNA.

25 May 2011

Proteros, IP-K partner for structure-based drug discovery services in the field of infectious diseases

Proteros Biostructures GmbH announced today that it has entered into a service agreement with Institut Pasteur Korea (IP-K) under which Proteros will provide structure-based drug discovery services to IP-K.

25 May 2011

Silence to present new Atu027 Phase I study data in advanced solid tumors at ASCO annual meeting

Silence Therapeutics plc, a leading global RNA interference therapeutics company, announces that it will present new data from its ongoing Phase I study of Atu027, its lead internal therapeutic candidate, at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting on 06 June 2011.

19 May 2011

Novel topically-applied molecular microbicide protects women against HIV infection

Using a technique that silences genes promoting infection, researchers have developed a novel, topically-applied molecular microbicide capable of preventing HIV transmission.

17 May 2011

Santaris Pharma advances SPC4955 into Phase 1 trial for high cholesterol treatment

Santaris Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of mRNA and microRNA targeted therapies, today announced that it has advanced a second drug from its cardiometabolic program, SPC4955 into Phase 1 clinical trials, for the treatment of high cholesterol.

11 May 2011

Researchers identify unexpected triple-negative breast cancer marker

German researchers have identified an unexpected molecular marker that predicts how sensitive hard-to-treat triple-negative breast cancers are to chemotherapy.

5 May 2011

Researchers develop novel spinal cord injury treatment

Rutgers researchers have developed an innovative new treatment that could help minimize nerve damage in spinal cord injuries, promote tissue healing and minimize pain.

4 May 2011

JPO issues patent to Silence Therapeutics' RNAi technology

Silence Therapeutics plc announces the issuance of patent 4,705,370, titled "Further Novel Forms of Interfering RNA Molecules," by the Japanese Patent Office.

3 May 2011

Molecular Templates to present preclinical data of ETB platform technology at 5th RNAi and miRNA World Congress

Molecular Templates, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of a new class of small biologic therapies called Engineered Toxin Bodies (ETB), announced today that it will present preclinical data in a poster presentation at the 5th Annual RNAi and miRNA World Congress in Boston, MA during April 26-27, 2011.

22 Apr 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.