From the PharmaLive.com News Archive - Nov. 03, 2010
LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 3, 2010 - Regulus Therapeutics Inc. announced today that it has been awarded two grants totaling $488,989 under the Federal government's Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program. The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program was created to support research with the potential to produce new therapies and create high paying jobs. The grant funding will support preclinical development of Regulus' novel microRNA approaches to treat Hepatitis C Virus infection and fibrosis.
“We are pleased to receive maximum awards for both of the applications we submitted to this program,” said Zachary A. Zimmerman, Ph.D., Director of Business Development at Regulus. “The funding provides access to non-dilutive capital supporting the advancement of our preclinical microRNA programs toward the clinic.”
The Qualifying Therapeutic Discovery Project Program provides an immediate boost to the U.S. biomedical research community through targeted support of projects that have the potential to produce new therapies, address unmet medical needs and create jobs.
About microRNAs
The discovery of microRNA in humans is one of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs in the last decade. microRNAs are small RNA molecules, typically 20 to 25 nucleotides in length that do not encode proteins but instead regulate gene expression. Nearly 700 microRNAs have been identified in the human genome, and more than one-third of all human genes are believed to be regulated by microRNAs. As a single microRNA can regulate entire networks of genes, these molecules are considered the master regulators of the genome. microRNAs have been shown to play an integral role in numerous biological processes including the immune response, cell-cycle control, metabolism, viral replication, stem cell differentiation and human development. Most microRNAs are conserved across multiple species indicating the evolutionary importance of these molecules as modulators of critical biological pathways. Indeed, microRNA expression or function has been shown to be significantly altered in many disease states, including cancer, heart failure and viral infections. Targeting microRNAs with anti-miRs, antisense oligonucleotide inhibitors of microRNAs, or miR-mimics, double-stranded oligonucleotides to replace microRNA function, opens the possibility of a novel class of therapeutics and a unique approach to treating disease by modulating entire biological pathways. To learn more about microRNAs please visit http://www.regulusrx.com/microrna/microrna-explained.php
About Regulus Therapeutics Inc.
Regulus Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative new medicines targeting microRNAs. Regulus is using a mature therapeutic platform based on technology that has been developed over 20 years and tested in greater than 5,000 human subjects. In addition, Regulus works with a broad network of academic collaborators and leverages oligonucleotide drug discovery and development expertise from its founding companies Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ALNY) and Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:ISIS). Regulus is advancing microRNA therapeutics towards the clinic in several areas including hepatitis C infection, immuno-inflammatory diseases, fibrosis, oncology, and cardiovascular/metabolic diseases. Regulus' intellectual property estate contains both the fundamental and core patents in the field and includes over 600 patents and more than 300 pending patent applications pertaining primarily to chemical modifications of oligonucleotides targeting microRNAs for therapeutic applications. In April 2008, Regulus entered into a major alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to discover and develop microRNA therapeutics for immuno-inflammatory diseases. In February 2010, Regulus entered into a new collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline to develop and commercialize microRNA therapeutics targeting microRNA-122 for the treatment of Hepatitis C Viral infection. In June 2010, sanofi-aventis and Regulus entered into the largest-to-date strategic alliance for the development of microRNA therapeutics. This alliance is focused initially on fibrosis. For more information, visit http://www.regulusrx.com
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