MDRNA licenses Uni of Michigan IP

US company MDRNA has signed an exclusive license agreement to intellectual property from the University of Michigan covering cationic peptides for enhanced delivery of nucleic acids. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

The small cationic peptides covered by the University's IP are capable of forming stable siRNA nanoparticle complexes, thereby protecting the siRNA while increasing the efficiency and efficacy of the formulations. In addition, they can also enhance endosomal release, an important step in delivering siRNAs to their site of action inside cells. Results to date have demonstrated both enhanced knockdown of target proteins in vivo as well as improvement in delivery efficiency.

"The University of Michigan peptides have unique characteristics that we believe play an important role in improving the efficacy of delivery of RNAi-based therapeutics," said Michael Houston, vice president of chemistry and formulations.