BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Systemic RNAi

December 4, 2006 8:00 AM UTC

Even as popular opinion has begun to inch toward "when" rather than "whether" RNA interference will emerge as a viable therapeutic modality, identifying a method for systemic delivery is one obstacle that remains in many disease areas. A group of investors are convinced that Intradigm Corp.'s nanoparticle delivery technology may solve the problem. Late last month, they provided the company with $16 million in a series A round that is expected to carry its lead cancer program into the clinic next year.

Investor interest in RNAi has grown as biotech companies continue to report positive preclinical data and begin human testing with siRNA candidates, while pharma companies such as Novartis AG (NVS; SWX:NOVN, Basel, Switzerland) and Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK, Whitehouse Station, N.J.) have given credence to the science by investing large sums of money in M&A and partnering arrangements(see BioCentury, Sept. 12, 2005 & Nov. 6). ...