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Study Is Setback for Some RNA-Based Drugs
NY Times ^ | April 2, 2008 | ANDREW POLLACK

Posted on 04/03/2008 10:29:09 PM PDT by neverdem

A NEW study is raising doubts about one of the hottest fields in biotechnology.

That field, called RNA interference, is supposed to provide a way to precisely turn off specific disease-causing genes. Biotech start-ups and big pharmaceutical companies are racing to develop drugs to harness this mechanism.

But the study suggests that at least some drugs now being tested in clinical trials actually work not by silencing genes but by activating the immune system. That could mean the drugs are not really precise tools and could have unexpected side effects.

“It seems to be working by a completely different mechanism that’s unrelated to the underlying premise,”’ said Dr. Jayakrishna Ambati, a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Kentucky and senior author of the study.

Dr. Ambati and colleagues from several other universities looked in particular at two drugs being developed to treat macular degeneration, a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, one by Opko Health and the other by Allergan.

The companies say that their drugs are safe and that they have their own evidence the medicines worked through the intended mechanism.

But those assurances did not necessarily calm investors. Shares of Opko had fallen nearly 10 percent since the study was published online by the journal Nature on March 26, before regaining much of that ground during Tuesday’s broad market rally. Opko shares closed at $2.19, up 13 cents on the day, although still off 3 percent since before the Nature article appeared.

Shares of Alnylam, a start-up specializing in RNA interference, had been down more than 9 percent in the study’s wake, closing on Monday at $24.40. On Tuesday, they rose 50 cents, closing at $24.90...

(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: health; medicine; rnainterference

1 posted on 04/03/2008 10:29:09 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

I just started an internship looking at mRNA... it’s weird to see so many PhDs all excited and debating all the time. I guess the true function of this stuff is still in the air. Thanks for the ping.


2 posted on 04/03/2008 10:51:17 PM PDT by Eyes Unclouded (We won't ever free our guns but be sure we'll let them triggers go....)
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To: Eyes Unclouded

please visit once in a while and tell us what the up and coming new thing is, will ya?


3 posted on 04/03/2008 10:59:02 PM PDT by cherry
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