AZ and Silence to collaborate on gene technology
pharmafile | March 20, 2008 | News story | Research and Development |Â Â Â
AstraZeneca has signed a deal with UK biotech firm Silence Therapeutics to develop a range of novel approaches for the delivery of short interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) molecules.
London-based Silence is a specialist in the field of RNA interference (RNAi) – the process by which genes are "switched off" in the cell. The new tie-up is aimed at developing improved delivery systems to treat diseases using this gene silencing technique. Delivery of the siRNA molecules is crucial to realising its full potential to treat a broad range of diseases. AZ's first potential targets for siRNA therapy are respiratory conditions including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.
"Although both pre-clinical and clinical development of this novel technology are challenging, we have the potential to create novel therapies that are highly specific, potent, and provide long-lasting effects," said Claude Bertrand, AstraZeneca's global VP of Discovery Respiratory & Inflammation.
Financial details of the new deal have not been released. But both companies will contribute their know-how to the project, with Silence using the AtuPLEX technology it has developed specially to deliver siRNA in vivo. Under the terms of the agreement both companies can commercialise the novel delivery systems they develop.
Silence chief executive Jeff Vick said: "This agreement highlights the significant progress we have made with our AtuPLEX platform, and the importance of delivery to the development of successful RNAi therapeutics. This deal also reflects the strong working relationship we have developed with AZ."
Bertrand added: "Based on Silence Therapeutics' significant expertise in siRNA delivery, we are confident that we have found a strong partner to achieve our ambitions in this area."
Silence is able to sign further delivery deals to capture value from AtuPLEX as well as from any improvements to the process which it develops. This cutting-edge technology, while not commercially proven, has caught the interest of pharma companies: Merck bought RNAi specialist Sirna Therapeutics for $1.1 billion in 2006. And it is not the first time that AZ and Silence have agreed to work together: they signed off on a separate three-year collaboration last July to develop siRNA molecules against a number of AZ's targets.
