Nastech Announces RNAi Therapeutics-Based RA Study Collaboration

Nastech Pharmaceutical has entered into a clinical research collaboration with the Mayo Clinic to evaluate Nastech's RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutic formulations in immune cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for the purpose of selecting a candidate for preclinical and clinical development.

The collaboration will involve the measurement of a series of inflammatory cytokines, including human tumor necrosis factor alpha (H-TNF-alpha), in serum from patients with RA and the screening of proprietary formulations that contain siRNA sequences together with Nastech's novel delivery excipients for H-TNF-alpha knockdown in immune cells collected from these patients.

These formulations are designed to be given systemically and to halt the production of H-TNF-alpha, a protein that is over-expressed in rheumatoid arthritis and that plays an important role in disease pathology.