Cenix BioScience joins EU FP7 Consortium to Advance in vivo Use of siRNAs in Respiratory and Inflammation Areas
Cenix BioScience GmbH announced that it has joined an EU-funded consortium focused on improving the in vivo use of siRNA technology in the area of respiratory and inflammatory diseases.
The consortium, named TACIT and funded by the EU FP7’s Marie Curie Actions program, was originally started in August 2009 by the groups of Dr. Evangelos Andreakos (Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece), Dr. Cristos Tsatsanis (University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece) and Germany-based Novosom AG. Following the successful 2010 sale by Novosom of its key liposomal carrier technology and its subsequent exit from the consortium, Cenix was invited to replace Novosom for the remainder of the funding period, lasting until mid-2013. The consortium’s updated project, recently approved by the EU, will focus on testing a variety of novel siRNA delivery solutions, including embodiments of proprietary Cenix DARE™ technology, that together promise innovative and groundbreaking new ways of addressing this field’s top challenge for both research and therapeutic applications. The Marie Curie funding primarily supports the new recruitment and exchanges of scientific personnel by and between consortium members within the EU.
Complementing the world-class expertise offered by the groups of Drs. Andreakos and Tsatsanis using in vivo models in these disease areas, Cenix will apply both cell-based and in vivo RNAi capabilities built up at its Dresden-based operations. In particular, Cenix will leverage its state-of-the-art high-content assay capabilities using multi-parametric microscopy readouts enhanced by industry-leading Definiens Developer XD image analysis tools, to analyze the intra-tissue and intra-cellular fate of siRNAs and their associated delivery vehicles.
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