The Economist: RNAi Therapies Still Hold Great Promise

An article in The Economist featured the rise, fall, and hopeful future of companies developing RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics. 

Many human diseases are caused by proteins that have mutated to become harmful to the body. The basic idea around RNAi therapies is to block these proteins from being made inside our cells.  RNAi molecules can be designed to bind and cause destruction of what is called messenger RNA.  This destruction inhibits the cells ability to make the mutated protein. The issue is delivering the RNAi to the correct cells and getting through the cell membrane. 

Domain Associate portfolio company, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has proven to be a long-term contender in developing RNAi therapeutics as they continue to advance this technology when other companies have ended their RNAi development programs.  Dicerna has developed two delivery platforms that allow RNAi to enter the cells and access previously inaccessible drug targets that cause cancers and rare, inherited diseases involving the liver. 

Recent Dicerna news:

Dicerna Pharmaceuticals Submits Investigational New Drug (IND) Application for DCR-PH1, an Investigational Therapy for Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1 (PH1)

Dicerna Presents Preliminary Safety and Efficacy Data from DCR-MYC Phase 1 Study in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting

Dicerna Presents New β-catenin Data from Multiple Tumor Models at the 2015 RNA & Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Meeting at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Click here to read The Economist article and learn more about Dicerna and the promise of RNAi therapies