Aptamers News and Research

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New patent grant for oligonucleotide modulators of blood coagulation factor aptamers

Regado Biosciences, a privately held company leading the development of antithrombotic aptamers with active control agents, announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has notified the Company of its intent to grant a patent with claims directed to oligonucleotide modulators of blood coagulation factor aptamers in EP 1401853. This new patent grant in the Company's portfolio extends the scope and breadth of Regado's intellectual property estate.

18 Sep 2009

First patient enrolled in Phase 2b RADAR clinical trial

Regado Biosciences, a privately held company leading the development of antithrombotic therapeutic aptamers with active control agents, announced that on September 8, 2009 enrollment of the first patient in a Phase 2b, randomized, partially-blinded, multi-center, active-controlled, dose-ranging study of its lead product candidate, the REG1 anticoagulation system (REG1) was achieved.

11 Sep 2009

URV’s biosensor can detect typhoid causing bacteria instantly

A research group from the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona has developed a biosensor that can immediately detect very low levels of Salmonella typhi, the bacteria that causes typhoid fever. The technique uses carbon nanotubes and synthetic DNA fragments that activate an electric signal when they link up with the pathogen.

9 Sep 2009

Aptamer nanoflares for molecular detection in living cells

By combining a gold nanoparticle with a unique family of nucleic acids, researchers at Northwestern University have created a new type of intracellular reporting system that with a flash of light reveals the presence and quantity of a wide variety of biologically important molecules. These so-called nanoflares could provide cancer biologists with a highly sensitive method of tracking complex biochemical processes in real time without interfering with those processes.

7 Sep 2009

Reversible cell-specific drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized liposomes

For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug also must spare healthy cells, and ideally its effects will be reversible to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects. Investigators from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign report that they have assembled a new cancer drug delivery system that, in cell culture, achieves all of the above.

7 Sep 2009

Germany’s BMBF awards NOXXON grant for developing Spiegelmer NOX-A12

NOXXON Pharma AG (NOXXON), clinical-stage developer of L-RNA based scaffolds (Spiegelmers®) that bind their targets conceptually similar to antibodies, announced today that the company was awarded a research grant from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under the ministry’s small and medium enterprise innovation initiative (“KMU-Innovativ”).

3 Sep 2009

Regado Biosciences to commence Phase I study of a subcutaneous administration formulation of the REG1 anticoagulation system

Regado Biosciences, Inc, a privately held company leading the development of antithrombotic therapeutic aptamers with active control agents, today announced enrollment of the first patient in the first Phase I study of a subcutaneous administration formulation of the REG1 anticoagulation system.

25 Aug 2009

Reversible cell-specific drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized liposomes

For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug must also spare healthy cells, and - ideally - its effects will be reversible, to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects.

6 Aug 2009

Aptamers offer unique therapeutic advantages

A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical development as treatments for a broad range of common diseases, as described in a comprehensive review article published online ahead of print in Oligonucleotides.

5 Aug 2009

Key genetic mechanism a potential key to new class of antibiotics

Researchers have determined the structure of a key genetic mechanism at work in bacteria, including some that are deadly to humans, in an important step toward the design of a new class of antibiotics, according to an accelerated publication that appeared online today as a "paper of the week" in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

20 Apr 2009

New nanostructured biosensors

Research and industry are increasingly exploiting the potential of aptamers.

8 Apr 2009

Discovery of 'lock-like' molecule may provide new ways to starve cancer tumors or prevent drug side effects

Scientists have shed new light -- literally -- on a possible way to starve cancer tumors or prevent side effects from a wide range of drugs.

30 Mar 2009

Scientists develop general-purpose method for detecting trace chemicals

Described in an advance, online publication of the journal Nature Biotechnology on February 22, 2009, the team's general method could be adapted for detecting a wide variety of compounds, including many that are relevant to diagnostic medicine and environmental work.

26 Feb 2009

Microfluidic devices capture and analyze single cancer cells

One of the grand goals in nanotechnology is to develop a single microfluidic device that integrates all of the components needed to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based nucleic acid analyses. Experts predict that such a device would enable researchers to develop rapid assays for cancer and other life-threatening diseases while a patient is in the doctor's office.

18 Jan 2009

What are protective effects of anti-ricin A-chain aptamer?

Ricin, a lectin from the castor bean plant Ricinus communis is considered one of the most potent plant toxins.

30 Dec 2008

Researcher refines aptamers to prevent HIV resistance

Evolving HIV viral strains and the adverse side effects associated with long-term exposure to current treatments propel scientists to continue exploring alternative HIV treatments.

16 Dec 2008

Targeted nanoparticles boost platinum-based anticancer therapy

A research team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-Harvard Center for Nanotechnology Excellence has custom-designed nanoparticles that can deliver the anticancer drug cisplatin specifically to prostate cancer cells.

20 Nov 2008

Radioimmunotherapy targeting viral antigens shows potential to treat or prevent viral cancers

A new study, presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine's 55th Annual Meeting, shows that radioimmunotherapy (RIT) targeting viral antigens offers a novel option to treat-or even prevent-many viral cancers by targeting cancer cells expressing viral antigens or infected cells before they convert into malignancy.

16 Jun 2008

New tool to identify the molecular signatures of serious diseases

University of Florida chemists are the first to use a new tool to identify the molecular signatures of serious diseases - without any previous knowledge of what these microscopic signatures or "biomarkers" should look like.

1 Apr 2008

Gold nanoparticle-based colorimetric assay for the direct detection of cancerous cells

Early detection of tumors is one of the Holy Grails of cancer research, an achievement that would greatly improve cancer therapy and prognosis. Two new reports describe different but promising approaches to solving this problem.

3 Mar 2008