Jul 28 2010
SurModics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRDX), a leading provider of drug delivery and surface modification technologies to the healthcare industry and EGEN, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company focused on developing nucleic acid (DNA and RNAi) therapeutics for the treatment of human diseases, are pleased to announce they have executed a continuation of their feasibility collaboration focused on long-term controlled release of siRNA complexes.
In work presented earlier this year at the Boston TIDES 2010 meeting, the companies disclosed more than 100 days of sustained release of siRNA nanocomplexes in vitro. Importantly, a high degree of gene knockdown was maintained with little indication of degradation of the released complexes. The kinetics of siRNA nanocomplex release can be modulated by alterations in formulation, providing a broad range of extended release systems. In this work, EGEN's proprietary TheraSilence™ nanoparticles were used in combination with SurModics' proprietary Eureka™ DUET platform. Work is progressing to further optimize the combination of these technologies leading to evaluation in relevant animal models.
Background on siRNA
Identification and characterization of mammalian siRNA mechanisms that control protein production has resulted in an important new area of research, opening up the potential to create entirely new classes of therapeutics that can specifically target genes responsible for a variety of disease states. This breakthrough provides the ability to create siRNA-based drugs that can lead to innovative treatments for many of the most devastating diseases such as cancer and genetic disorders.
Long-term siRNA delivery systems offer the potential of increased safety and efficacy, improved patient convenience (for example, with less dosing or injections), enhanced compliance and ultimately better therapeutic response. In general, the field of siRNA is not yet fully focused on long-term delivery, but it is expected that for many disease indications this will increasingly become a focus as siRNA based products get closer to market.
"We are thrilled to be working with the team at EGEN and are excited about the compelling data generated to date. At SurModics, we like to maintain a balance of cutting edge innovation. Many of our efforts are focused on creating new technologies and products for customers in the relative near-term. Others, however, like this extended release of siRNA, are ones where we intend to establish a leadership technology position for customers 2, 5, and 10 years in the future," said Arthur J. Tipton, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of SurModics.
Khursheed Anwer, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer of EGEN added, "The program with SurModics employs our TheraSilence™ technology for sustained delivery of therapeutic RNAi. The extended release data generated from the collaborative work is impressive and warrants continuation of this exciting joint effort. A key mission for EGEN is to apply our broad-based RNAi delivery technology platform to create novel solutions for human diseases."
Source: http://celsion.com/