NEWS: New Approach to Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy Under Development

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New Approach to Rheumatoid Arthritis Therapy Under Development

Contributed by Jai A. Dennison | 07 April, 2005 21:30 GMT

'While currently approved treatments for rheumatoid arthritis are

designed to bind H-TNF-alpha protein or its receptor, we have

demonstrated that our RNAi compound can reduce or eliminate TNF-alpha

production, which is a different mechanism of action compared with any

of the approved therapeutics.'

'While currently approved treatments for rheumatoid arthritis are

designed to bind H-TNF-alpha protein or its receptor, we have

demonstrated that our RNAi compound can reduce or eliminate TNF-alpha

production, which is a different mechanism of action compared with any

of the approved therapeutics.'

Nastech Pharmaceutical Company Inc. (Nasdaq: NSTK) and the Mayo Clinic

have agreed to collaborate on the development of a therapy for

rheumatoid arthritis based on Nastech's RNA interference (RNAi)-based

formulations.

Researchers will evaluate Nastech's RNAi-based formulations in immune

cells from patients with rheumatoid arthritis for the purpose of

selecting a candidate for preclinical and clinical development.

Late-Breaking Presentation

Data demonstrating the successful preclinical, in vivo use of an

RNAi-based therapeutic drug directed against the expression of

H-TNF-alpha was the subject on Thursday of a late-breaking presentation

at the 2005 American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Annual Meeting in San Diego, according to Nastech.

" Applying our proprietary peptide-based delivery system, we have

identified a range of therapeutic formulations that may effectively

address the challenge that others have not yet been able to solve of

delivering small interfering RNA (siRNA) sequences into cells, " said

C. Quay, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, President and CEO of Nastech.

" Our work with Mayo Clinic will allow us to rapidly advance our

research and we look forward to providing an update on our progress in

the near term, " Quay added.

Halt the Production of Human Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha

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 rheumatoid arthritis.

It also will encompass 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, the company says.

These formulations are designed to be given systemically and to halt

the production of human tumor necrosis factor alpha (H-TNF-alpha), a

protein that is over-expressed in rheumatoid arthritis and that plays

an important role in disease pathology.

Different Mechanism of Action

" Our research in RNAi delivery has shown promising results, " said

H. , Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Research & Development and

Chief Scientific Officer of Nastech. " The collaboration with the Mayo

Clinic will allow us to rapidly screen the effectiveness of our

proprietary siRNA candidates, " he noted.

" While currently approved treatments for rheumatoid arthritis are

designed to bind H-TNF-alpha protein or its receptor, we have

demonstrated that our RNAi compound can reduce or eliminate TNF-alpha

production, which is a different mechanism of action compared with any

of the approved therapeutics. RNAi may thus provide a more effective

treatment option, " concluded.