SIRNA GETS PATENT COVERING RNAI-MEDIATED INHIBITION OF GENE EXPRESSION

Sirna Therapeutics has announced that the UK Patent Office has issued a broad patent covering RNA interference (RNAi) mediated inhibition of gene expression using short-interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNA). The patent claims, which are not limited to a specific siRNA sequence or structure, broadly cover any siRNA molecule that targets conserved sequences within a virus or a gene.

This patent enables increased therapeutic potential of RNAi technology. It allows an siRNA therapeutic to target the conserved region of a virus thus targeting multiple strains of the virus as well as preventing escape mutants. Second, the patent allows a siRNA therapeutic to target more than one gene in a biological pathway to increase therapeutic effect of a siRNA.

Together, these claims provide important coverage for the development of siRNA therapeutics to treat RNA viruses such as Hepatitis C virus (HCV), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza virus, bird flu virus, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as well as other viral or gene targets where targeting a conserved region would provide therapeutic benefit.