Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today the publication of a novel approach to regulate gene expression through the silencing of microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs have been shown to regulate a large number of genes in the human genome through the RNAi pathway. Many of these miRNAs are believed to be involved in disease processes. In a paper published yesterday in Nature, scientists from The Rockefeller University and Alnylam describe the rational design of a potential new class of chemically modified RNA-based drugs, called ‘antagomirs’, that specifically silence miRNAs across multiple tissue types following therapeutically relevant administration in animals. We believe this research creates the opportunity to design antagomirs that target miRNAs in the context of human diseases, such as cancer and viral infection.
