| Collaboration targets improving delivery of RNAi-based therapies Strasbourg, France, September 21, 2007 — Polyplus-transfection, a company specialized in the research, development and marketing of innovative reagents for RNA interference (RNAi) and transfection, announced today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, the leading RNAi therapeutics company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. |   |
Under the terms of the agreement, Polyplus-transfection will provide Alnylam with its RNAi therapeutic delivery solutions and share its expertise in formulation for siRNAs, the molecules that mediate RNAi, in vivo. Alnylam will evaluate Polyplus' formulations for delivery of RNAi therapeutics. Other terms were not disclosed.
The companies believe the collaboration has the potential to bring about improvements in the delivery of siRNA therapies. Although there has been significant progress in this area to date, creating delivery solutions for RNAi therapeutics remains an important component in realizing the full potential of this promising technology.
"As Alnylam is the leading RNAi therapeutics company, we at Polyplus-transfection are delighted to be collaborating with a firm at the cutting edge," said Joëlle Bloch, CEO of Polyplus-transfection. "A big advantage of this relationship is that Polyplus-transfection will benefit from having its chemical carriers tested in several disease models while working with the most advanced target sequences and mixed chemical siRNA modifications from Alnylam."
Polyplus-transfection is developing several in vivo siRNA formulation solutions based on its lead compounds in vivo-jetPEI (now GMP available) and INTERFERin, as well as on an original RNA modification, sticky siRNA (ssiRNA).
RNA interference (RNAi)
RNA interference (or RNAi) is a naturally occurring mechanism within cells for selectively silencing and regulating specific genes. The discovery of RNAi has been widely acknowledged as a major breakthrough in biology, and the technology was recognized for its potential broad impact in medicine with the award of the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Since many diseases are caused by the inappropriate activity of specific genes, the ability to silence genes selectively through RNAi has accelerated the understanding of these genes and their related pathways. Additionally, RNAi could provide a new way to treat a wide range of human diseases. RNAi is induced by small, double-stranded RNA molecules. One method to activate RNAi is with chemically synthesized small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, which are double-stranded RNAs that are targeted to a specific disease-associated gene. The siRNA molecules are used by the natural RNAi machinery in cells to cause targeted gene silencing.
About Polyplus-transfection
Polyplus-transfection is focused on developing innovative solutions for intracellular delivery of nucleic acids. The company has been marketing its transfection reagents worldwide since 2001 and is reinvesting most of its revenues into research and development. Transfection consists in introducing a gene or a small interfering RNA into cells. This technique makes it possible to cross the cellular barriers and deliver such biomolecules into the cell for research or therapeutic purposes.
Customers of Polyplus-transfection's products and services include biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies as well as life science academic laboratories. Polyplus-transfection offers high quality consultancy, personalized scientific support and expertise in regulatory affairs related to the use of its reagents in clinical trials. Phases I/II cancer gene therapy and AIDS trials are underway in Israel, USA, Sweden and Germany using GMP-compliant reagents from Polyplus-transfection.
Polyplus-transfection R&D has well-established partnerships with biotech companies and is also involved in several European research collaboration networks, such as GIANT (Gene Therapy, an Integrated Approach to Neoplastic Treatment) and RIGHT (RNA Interference Technology as Human Therapeutic Tool). The company also drives the OligoPlus research program for the "Therapeutic Innovations" Competitiveness Cluster, focusing on new tools for diagnostic.
The Strasbourg-based company is recognized as a leading innovator in the transfection market, with ISO 9001:2000 certification, three exclusive licenses from the CNRS and numerous patent filed.
For more information, visit: http://www.polyplus-transfection.com
Source: Polyplus-transfection
