RNA News and Research

RSS

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Silence Therapeutics reorganizes resources following Intradigm merger

Silence Therapeutics plc announces that the Company is executing a strategic plan designed to optimally organize its resources following its recent merger with Intradigm Corporation. Moving forward, all research activities related to Silence's novel RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutic platforms, including technologies that have emerged from both Silence and Intradigm, will take place at the Company's Berlin location.

13 Apr 2010

RXi Pharmaceuticals, miRagen Therapeutics enter into research collaboration

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference, and miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA -based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, announced today that they have entered into a research collaboration.

13 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

Gilead Sciences doses first patient in Quad Phase III clinical program

Gilead Sciences, Inc. today announced that it has dosed the first patient in the Phase III clinical program evaluating its investigational fixed-dose, single-tablet "Quad" regimen of elvitegravir, cobicistat (formerly GS 9350), emtricitabine and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

13 Apr 2010

RXi Pharmaceuticals, Mirna Therapeutics form microRNA research collaboration

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), announced today that it has entered into a research collaboration with Mirna Therapeutics (Austin, TX), to determine the utility of combining RXi's proprietary rxRNA™ technology with Mirna's microRNA mimics as potential therapeutics in oncology. The parties will each contribute technology and resources to the collaboration to generate and evaluate novel microRNA compounds.

12 Apr 2010

Rosetta Genomics to present posters on microRNA-based technologies at AACR 2010

Rosetta Genomics, Ltd., a leading developer and provider of microRNA-based molecular diagnostic tests, announced today it will present multiple posters at the upcoming American Association of Cancer Research's 101st Annual Meeting to be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. from April 17-21, 2010.

12 Apr 2010

Optimer Pharmaceuticals announces results from second Phase 3 clinical study of fidaxomicin

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the top-line results from its second fidaxomicin Phase 3 clinical study in patients with Clostridium difficile infection were presented today at the 20th Annual European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Vienna, Austria.

12 Apr 2010

IFN therapy for chronic hepatitis C must be individualized and optimized for efficacy

The efficacy of interferon (IFN) therapy depends on the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype, pretreatment viral load and early viral kinetics. Thus, IFN therapy must be individualized and optimized according to the virological and clinical status of each patient.

9 Apr 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals' TLR antagonists exert anti atherogenic effects in preclinical model of atherosclerosis

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today presented data from a preclinical study evaluating the mechanism of action of a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) antagonist in a preclinical model of atherosclerosis. The presentation entitled "A novel antagonist of TLR7 and TLR9 exerts anti atherogenic effects in ApoE-/- mouse model of atherosclerosis" (abstract P259) was made by Idera scientists at the American Heart Association conference "Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology 2010 Scientific Sessions" being held April 8-10 in San Francisco, CA.

9 Apr 2010

Molecular gauge helps examine working of new drugs when they bind to DNA or RNA

Luminescent markers are an indispensable tool for researchers working with DNA. But the markers are troublesome. Some tend to destroy the function and structure of DNA when inserted. Others emit so little light, that they can barely be detected in the hereditary material. So researchers have been asking for alternative markers.

8 Apr 2010

Telaprevir-based regimens increase rates of SVR in patients with genotype 1 HCV infection

In a clinical trial known as PROVE 3 published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, treatment with telaprevir-based regimens significantly increased rates of sustained viral response (SVR) in patients with genotype 1 hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection who did not achieve SVR with at least one prior course of pegylated-interferon and ribavirin therapy.

8 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

Biocartis closes Series 'B' equity financing round

Biocartis SA, a biotech company active in the field of personalized medicine and focused on fast, multiplexed and fully integrated molecular diagnostics based on its proprietary micro-technology and sample preparation platforms, today announced the successful closing of a Series B equity financing round. The Company raised EUR 30 million (~ USD 41.3 million) from its current shareholder base of leading life science investors and two new strategic investors from the pharmaceutical/diagnostic industry.

From Biocartis 8 Apr 2010

Debiopharm Group, Biocartis sign investment agreement

Debiopharm Group, a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies with a focus on the development of innovative prescription drugs that target unmet medical needs, and which has embarked in the field of companion diagnostics with a view to progressing in the area of personalized medicine, today announced the signature of an investment agreement with Biocartis.

8 Apr 2010

Scientists discover how mechanical stress promotes new bone growth

For osteoporosis patients unable to exercise, help may be on the way. That's because scientists have discovered precisely how mechanical stress, such as exercise, promotes new bone growth. This opens the door to entirely new therapies that can trick bones into thinking they are getting a workout. The research report describing this advance is published online in The FASEB Journal.

8 Apr 2010

Updates from Phase I/IIa clinical trial of DIABECELL treatment in insulin-dependent diabetics

Living Cell Technologies Limited, a global company pioneering the development of a cell implant to treat diabetes, today provided a penultimate update regarding the three-year follow up of its Phase I/IIa clinical trial in Russia of its DIABECELL® treatment in insulin-dependent diabetics.

7 Apr 2010

Officials of Kylin Therapeutics receive an issued patent from USPTO

Officials of Kylin Therapeutics Inc., a leading RNAi company, announced this week that they received an issued patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

7 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

RXi Pharmaceuticals, TransDerm collaborate on study of RXi's proprietary compounds in dermatology applications

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), and TransDerm, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing nucleic acid skin delivery technologies and therapeutics for skin disorders, announced today that they will collaborate on studying the potential utility of RXi's proprietary compounds in dermatology models.

7 Apr 2010

Blocking POLQ gene activity can increase ability of radiotherapy to destroy tumours

Cancer Research UK scientists have identified a gene that once blocked could increase the effectiveness of radiotherapy on tumours, according to research published in Cancer Research today (Thursday).

7 Apr 2010