Singapore: Silence Therapeutics, a leading RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics company based in the UK, has signed an agreement with Australian firm MiReven to assess the delivery potential of its proprietary delivery systems with MiReven's novel microRNA-based therapeutics. MiReven, a microRNA company, is commercializing discoveries from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) on the anti-cancer potential of miR-7.

Under the terms of the agreement, Silence will formulate a miR-7 mimetic (a potentially therapeutic mimic of the miR-7 molecule) with its proprietary AtuPLEX, DACC and DBTC delivery systems in order to evaluate miR-7 in various cancer models. Silence will undertake in vitro and in vivo studies of the formulated miR-7. Silence is being paid an undisclosed fee for the collaboration.

AtuPLEX, DACC and DBTC are proprietary RNAi delivery systems developed by Silence. Its most advanced lipid delivery technology, AtuPLEX, has demonstrated broad systemic delivery to the vascular endothelium. The AtuPLEX delivery system is used in Atu027, Silence's lead oncology candidate in phase I trials. DACC, closely related to AtuPLEX, is a novel lipid delivery system that enables functional, highly specific and efficient delivery of RNAi therapeutics to the pulmonary vascular endothelium.

DBTC is a novel lipid-based formulation that functionally delivers siRNA to liver endothelial cells, hepatocytes and other liver cell types with high efficiency.

Mr Klaus Giese, chief scientific officer of Silence Therapeutics, said: "We are delighted to be collaborating with MiReven. This is the fourth collaboration that we have recently signed to explore the use of Silence's delivery technologies for microRNAs. Whilst we remain internally focused on the delivery of our siRNA therapies, we continue to broaden the potential value of our proprietary delivery systems by collaborating with partners. Functional delivery to target cells is widely recognized as one of the greatest challenges facing most nucleic acid therapies. Our three proprietary RNAi delivery systems, AtuPLEX, DACC and DBTC, deliver effective doses of RNAi to key intracellular targets in vascular endothelium, lung and liver respectively, and provide our partners with a growing range of solutions to overcome their delivery challenges."

Mr Stephen Thompson of MiReven said: "MiReven's founding scientists have developed a compelling body of preclinical data supporting the potential of miR-7 to suppress tumor growth, particularly in the many cancers known to be controlled by the EGF receptor signaling pathway including glioblastoma. MiReven is currently testing drug-like versions of miR-7 in key models of human cancer."