Thursday, July 23, 2009

Archemix teams with miRagen on therapeutics

By Mass High Tech Staff

Cambridge-based biotech Archemix Corp. reports it is collaborating with miRagen Therapeutics Inc., a Colorado-based biopharmaceutical company, to develop therapies based on aptamers and microRNA.

No financial details of the deal were disclosed, but miRagen and Archemix say they will jointly pursue research and development efforts and both companies will contribute resources under the agreement. The deal includes an exclusive option for miRagen to negotiate for exclusive rights to further develop and commercialize certain aptamer-microRNA therapeutics coming out of the collaboration, officials said.

Archemix is a biotechnology company focused on developing aptamer-based therapeutics.

In May, Archemix appointed Kenneth Bate to the role of president and CEO of the company. Bate replaced president and interim CEO Duncan Higgons, who left Archemix to join another biotech firm, company officials said.

Bate formerly worked as president and CEO at Lexington-based drug developer NitroMed Inc.

Archemix sees potential for aptamer therapeutics to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. MicroRNAs act to control the expression of sets of genes and entire pathways and could be considered master regulators of gene expression, Archemix officials said.

Archemix has additional partnerships with several pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Serono, Pfizer, Takeda, Eli Lilly and Isis Pharmaceuticals.