Alnylam and Collaborators Present Pre-Clinical Data for RNAi Therapeutics for the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it presented pre-clinical data from several ongoing respiratory disease programs including pandemic flu, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Alnylam presented pre-clinical data on identification of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), the molecules that mediate RNAi, that demonstrate potent anti-viral activity across multiple strains of flu. In particular, Alnylam scientists and collaborators demonstrated in vitro anti-viral activity toward a human clinical isolate of the H5N1 virus. These potent effects toward H5N1 were achieved with multiple siRNAs that also showed anti-viral activity toward other flu strains. The Alnylam pandemic flu program, in collaboration with Novartis, is focused on the development of RNAi therapeutics targeting sequences that are common to all flu genomes, including those of avian origin such as the H5N1 strain.
Based on these results and other research, Alnylam also announced that its flu drug candidate will include two siRNAs targeting different genes within the influenza virus designed to achieve the broadest spectrum of anti-viral activity, while diminishing the likelihood of viral resistance.
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