LONDON (Alliance News) - Silence Therapeutics PLC said Wednesday that a licensee had seen favourable results in a Phase 2 trial using a short interfering Ribonucleic acid modification that Silence Therapeutics developed, which it said highlight the safety and potency of its technology in humans.
Quark Pharmaceuticals Inc was trialling the use of its QPI-1002 treatment, which uses its licence from Silence, for the prevention of delayed graft function in kidney transplant patients.
Ribonucleic acid is a family of larger molecules that can be used to code, decode, regulate and express genes. It has a similar structure to DNA, and can be delivered into the cell to reduce the level at which genetic code is interpreted by the body. The modification used in QPI-1002 is called AtuRNAi.
Silence said that QPI-1002 is the first example of its modified Ribonucleic acid products being used in human clinical trials. The study did not meet its primary endpoint, however, it showed a 30.5% relative reduction in delayed graft function in the largest patient subgroup defined in the study.
Quark holds an exclusive licence for Silence's intellectual property used in QPI-1002. In August 2010 it entered into an agreement with Novartis International AG to grant it an exclusive licence option for the development and commercialisation of QPI-1002. Silence is eligible for 15% of the proceeds if this option is exercised.
"This study has highlighted the safety and potency of our technology in humans. With more than 160 additional patients dosed with AtuRNAi, there is further valuable data to add to the safety record we already have," said Chief Executive Ali Mortazavi in a statement. "We are excited about the potential of AtuRNAi in this application and the progression of our IP toward commercial therapeutics."
Shares in Silence Therapeutics were trading up 3.1% at 232.00 pence Wednesday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; hanassmith@alliancenews.com; @HanaSSAllNews
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
