Thursday, September 11, 2008

Alnylam adds to new malaria pathway discovery

By Mass High Tech Staff

Researchers have uncovered a new pathway to malaria infection, linking cholesterol metabolism to the disease, which could ultimately lead to new treatments using RNAi therapeutics.

Scientists from Cambridge-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: ALNY), Dresden, Germany-based Cenix BioScience GmbH and Lisbon-based Instituto de Medicina Molecular (IMM) published their findings in Cell Host & Microbe.

The study found that the scavenger receptor BI (SR-BI), which is responsible for transferring cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver, could host malaria-causing Pasmodium parasites.

Researchers used RNAi therapeutics to silence the SR-BI gene linked to the liver-damaging stage of malaria.

Cambridge biotech firm Alnylam made its contribution with its in vivo delivery of siRNAs, adding to the existing collaboration already established beteen the IMM group and Cenix.

Alnylam has broken out as one of the leaders in developing RNAi-based therapies. This month, Alnylam reported it had widened its RNA therapeutics program by obtaining the intellectual property (IP) rights for a new type of technology called RNA activation, or RNAa, from labs across the country. Alnylam has 129 employees and reported a 2007 net loss of $85.5 million on revenue of $50.9 million.

The IMM is a biomedical research institute focused on understanding disease mechanisms, developing predictive tests, improving diagnostics tools and developing new treatments.

Cenix Bioscience is a research organization that develops new therapeutics focused on its RNAi applications.