RXi Pharmaceuticals developing RNA interference technology RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), has announced a collaboration with Dr Shalesh Kaushal at The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). The research collaboration will be focused on the application of RXi's self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA) compounds for ocular diseases such as age-related macular degeneration.

RNAi is a naturally occurring mechanism whereby short, double-stranded RNA molecules interfere with the expression of genes in living cells. This mechanism has the potential to be harnessed to "silence" or specifically block the production of disease-causing proteins before they are made. This technology can potentially be used to treat human diseases by "turning-off" genes that lead to disease in the first place. RXi Pharmaceuticals is using RNAi technology to develop RNA-derived molecules targeting disease-causing genes.

Self-delivering rxRNA (sd-rxRNA) is a proprietary technology developed at RXi which has the potential to enable the efficient delivery of RNAi compounds without the requirement of an additional delivery vehicle. This technology has potential clinical applications for diseases where localized delivery is an option and also has the potential to be applied for indications requiring systemic delivery of RNAi.

RXi previously presented encouraging data on spontaneous cellular uptake and potent activity of sd-rxRNA compounds in retinal cells. The collaboration with UMMS will further advance RXi's therapeutic platform by evaluating the delivery and silencing activity of sd-rxRNAs in preclinical models of ocular disease.

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RXi Pharmaceuticals