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SIRNA REPORTS CLINICAL TRIAL DATA FOR SIRNA-027

October 21, 2005

Sirna Therapeutics presented updated interim data on a Phase I trial for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) at the 109th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in Chicago, Ill. The data continues to demonstrate that Sirna's short interfering RNA (siRNA) molecule, Sirna-027, targeting Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) is safe and well-tolerated with 100 percent of patients showing visual acuity stabilization and 23 percent of those patients experiencing clinically significant improvement in visual acuity after eight weeks from a single injection. Of equal significance, these latest results showcase the continued demonstration of biological activity in humans of a synthetic siRNA as shown by a relevant decrease in central foveal thickness measured by ocular coherence tomography (OCT).

Sirna-027 was safe, well-tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities observed. All patients in the trial have experienced visual acuity improvement or stabilization at eight weeks from a single dose, while 23 percent of those patients showed a clinically significant improvement of three or more lines on the ETDRS eye chart. A reduction in central foveal thickness was observed by OCT in the majority of patients.