CytRx unit in-licenses "nanotransporters"

Massachusetts, USA-based CytRx Corp's majority-owned subsidiary RXi Pharmaceuticals has entered into significant new agreements with the University of Massachusetts Medical School to license RNA interference (RNAi) intellectual property for all therapeutic applications.

RNAi has been shown to effectively interfere with the expression of targeted, disease-associated genes with great specificity and potency, and was co-discovered by 2006 Nobel Laureate Craig Mello, who is expected to become a scientific advisor of RXi pending institutional approval.

The agreements include an exclusive therapeutic license with rights to sub-license for nanotransporters, which have been shown to deliver intact RNAi to a number of tissues in animal models. The licenses are contingent upon RXi's receipt of working capital funding in the coming months. Financial terms were not disclosed for competitive reasons.