CAMBRIDGE, Mass. & CARLSBAD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulus Therapeutics, a joint venture between Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY) and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ISIS) formed to discover, develop, and commercialize microRNA therapeutics, announced today the publication of new research in the journal Nature. The new study, performed in collaboration with scientists from Duke University, shows that a virally derived microRNA mimics the gene expression control by an endogenous host microRNA that has previously been implicated in human cancer. Evidence from the study suggests that the viral microRNA, which is encoded by the Kaposi’s Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus, or KSHV, may represent the first example of a viral microRNA oncogene, termed an “oncomir.”
