Regulus Therapeutics

Regulus Therapeutics Inc.
Public
Industry Biotechnology
Founded September 2007 (by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ALNY) and Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ISIS))
Headquarters San Diego, California, USA
Key people
 Jay Hagan, President and CEO; Dr Timothy Wright, Chief R&D Officer; Dan Chevallard, CFO; Dr Mark Deeg, CMO
Products microRNA therapeutics
Number of employees
 65
Website www.regulusrx.com

Regulus Therapeutics Inc. or Regulus (NASDAQ: RGLS) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of first-in-class drugs that target microRNAs to treat a broad range of diseases. Regulus was established in September 2007 by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Isis Pharmaceuticals.[1]

microRNA Explained

MicroRNAs are small naturally occurring RNA molecules, typically 20 to 25 nucleotides in length, that do not encode proteins but instead have evolved to regulate gene expression.[2][3]

anti-miR Therapeutics

Anti-miR therapeutics inhibit specific microRNA targets. Animal models showed that modulating microRNAs through anti-miRs effectively regulates biological processes and provides therapeutic benefit to cardiac dysfunction, cancer and hepatitis C virus infection. Administration of anti-miR oligonucleotides is possible through local or parenteral injection.[4] The company's lead drug candidate, RG-012, is intended as a treatment for Alport Symdrome in Phase 2 clinical trials.

Strategic Alliances

In April 2008, Regulus and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) entered into a microRNA-focused strategic alliance for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel microRNA-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. In February 2010, Regulus and GSK announced a new collaboration to develop and commercialize microRNA therapeutics targeting microRNA-122 (miR-122) for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) infection.
Most recently, multi-national pharmaceutical giant Sanofi –Aventis awarded Regulus with the largest microRNA partnership to date – targeting fibrosis.[2]

Research Collaborations

Regulus has active collaborations with leading academic researchers from over 30 academic research laboratories globally.[1]

Patents

Regulus has more than 900 patents and patent applications, 600 of which cover the method of use, chemical modification and administration of oligonucleotides to address specific targets.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Hutton, David (June 2011). "Omics & Systems Biology, Surf's Up for microRNAs". Drug Discovery News.
  2. 1 2 Senese, Mike (October 2010). "The miracle of microRNA". SanDiegoMagazine. Archived from the original on 2011-12-09.
  3. ↑ Liszewski, Kathy (May 15, 2011). "miRNA Drugs Close In on Clinical Debut". Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News.
  4. ↑ Steffy, Kevin; Allerson, Charles; Bhat, Balkrishen (May 2011). "Perspectives in MictoRNA Therapeutics,". Pharmaceutical Technology.
  5. ↑ Flanagan,Michael (June 2010). "A handful would be fine" (PDF). BioCentury.
  • Regulus Therapeutics official website
  • Rayner, Katey J.; Sheedy, Frederick J.; Esau, Christine C.; Hussain, Farah N.; Temel, Ryan E.; Parathath, Saj; Van Gils, Janine M.; Rayner, Alistair J.; et al. (2011). "Antagonism of miR-33 in mice promotes reverse cholesterol transport and regression of atherosclerosis". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 121 (7): 2921–31. doi:10.1172/JCI57275. PMC 3223840. PMID 21646721.
  • Trajkovski, Mirko; Hausser, Jean; Soutschek, JüRgen; Bhat, Bal; Akin, Akinc; Zavolan, Mihaela; Heim, Markus H.; Stoffel, Markus (2011). "MicroRNAs 103 and 107 regulate insulin sensitivity". Nature. 474 (7353): 649–53. doi:10.1038/nature10112. PMID 21654750.
  • Gabriely, G.; Yi, M.; Narayan, R. S.; Niers, J. M.; Wurdinger, T.; Imitola, J.; Ligon, K. L.; Kesari, S.; et al. (2011). "Human Glioma Growth Is Controlled by MicroRNA-10b". Cancer Research. 71 (10): 3563–72. doi:10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-10-3568. PMC 3096675. PMID 21471404.
  • Boldin, M. P.; Taganov, K. D.; Rao, D. S.; Yang, L.; Zhao, J. L.; Kalwani, M.; Garcia-Flores, Y.; Luong, M.; et al. (2011). "miR-146a is a significant brake on autoimmunity, myeloproliferation, and cancer in mice". Journal of Experimental Medicine. 208 (6): 1189–1201. doi:10.1084/jem.20101823. PMC 3173243. PMID 21555486.
  • Park, Jong-Kook; Henry, Jon C.; Jiang, Jinmai; Esau, Christine; Gusev, Yuriy; Lerner, Megan R.; Postier, Russell G.; Brackett, Daniel J.; Schmittgen, Thomas D. (2011). "miR-132 and miR-212 are increased in pancreatic cancer and target the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 406 (4): 518–23. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2011.02.065. PMC 3069485. PMID 21329664.
  • Thum, Thomas; Chau, Nelson; Bhat, Balkrishen; Gupta, Shashi Kumar; Linsley, Peter S.; Bauersachs, Johann; Engelhardt, Stefan (2011). "Comparison of different miR-21 inhibitor chemistries in a cardiac disease model". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 121 (2): 461–2. doi:10.1172/JCI45938. PMC 3026747. PMID 21285516.
  • Chau, B. Nelson; Brenner, David A. (2011). "What goes up must come down: The emerging role of microRNA in fibrosis". Hepatology. 53 (1): 4–6. doi:10.1002/hep.24071. PMID 21254156.
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