New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Gene Silencing Technology Is Quietly Moving Toward The Clinic

Date:
November 15, 2006
Source:
American Chemical Society
Summary:
The gene silencing technology showcased in the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is on an amazingly fast track toward use in treating a variety of serious diseases, according to an article scheduled for the Nov. 13 issue of the ACS's weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News.
Share:
FULL STORY

The gene silencing technology showcased in the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is on an amazingly fast track toward use in treating a variety of serious diseases, according to an article scheduled for the Nov. 13 issue of the ACS's weekly newsmagazine, Chemical & Engineering News.

Much has happened to RNA interference (RNAi) technology in the eight years since discovery of this natural method for blocking the expression of specific genes, writes C&EN senior editor Celia Henry Arnaud.

In addition to the Nobel Prize, RNAi-based treatments have gone into clinical trials for a common eye disease (age-related macular degeneration) and a viral infection of the lungs. Big pharma is confident that RNAi will find other uses, as evidenced by Merck's move in October to spend $1.1 billion in acquiring a company specializing in RNAi therapeutics.

The article explains that expanding the medical uses of RNAi depends on development of new systems for delivering so-called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to other parts of the body.

Researchers are making progress on those delivery systems, with the first clinical trials of RNAi-packaged in delivery systems -- for cancer and hepatitis C -- possible in 2007.


Story Source:

Materials provided by American Chemical Society. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

American Chemical Society. "Gene Silencing Technology Is Quietly Moving Toward The Clinic." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2006. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061113180942.htm>.
American Chemical Society. (2006, November 15). Gene Silencing Technology Is Quietly Moving Toward The Clinic. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061113180942.htm
American Chemical Society. "Gene Silencing Technology Is Quietly Moving Toward The Clinic." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061113180942.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES