BOTHELL, WA - MDRNA Inc., a leading RNAi-based drug discovery and development company, announced in a Tuesday press release that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for patent application US 11/624,630 covering an siRNA directed against a junctional adhesion molecule-1 (JAM-1) gene.
The siRNA of the allowed claim has a broad array of potential applications, most notably as a therapeutic for the treatment of certain cancers, thrombosis, atherosclerosis, strokes, and hypertension; and enhances the delivery of drugs across the skin and the blood-brain barrier.
JAM-1 is a tight junction protein that plays a key role in maintaining epithelial and endothelial barrier functions, leukocyte transmigration and platelet adhesion and also functions as a pro-inflammatory molecule.
"This allowance validates our patent strategy for our gene target portfolio, and reinforces our belief that we will obtain patent protection for our extensive library of siRNAs directed against more than 140 therapeutic gene targets," MDRNA President and CEO J. Michael French said.
"As our scientific team develops more novel RNAi technologies, we expect to expand and strengthen our IP estate," French added.
Small interfering RNA (siRNA), sometimes known as short interfering RNA, is a class of double-stranded RNA molecules that play a variety of roles in biology. siRNA is involved in the RNA interference pathway, where it interferes with the expression of a specific gene.
A Notice of Allowance confirms the substantive examination of a patent application and will result in a final issuance of a US patent after an administrative process is completed.
MDRNA has a broad Intellectual Property estate that encompasses four key RNAi technology platforms: siRNA constructs, chemistry, nucleic acid delivery, and gene targets.
