Merck will acquire San Francisco biotechnology company Sirna Therapeutics for $1.1 billion in cash. Sirna is one of several companies developing therapies based on RNA interference.
October 31, 2006 (Press Release) --
Merck will acquire San Francisco biotechnology company Sirna Therapeutics for $1.1 billion in cash, the pharmaceutical giant said Monday.
Sirna is one of several companies developing therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi), a promising area of research that might one day allow doctors to silence genes causing diseases from HIV to cancer.
The pharma company, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., will pay $13 per share for Sirna, a fourteen-year old publicly traded business whose stock closed at $6.45 Monday.
Monday's acquisition complements Merck's $630 million purchase in 2001 of Seattle bioinformatics company Rosetta Inpharmatics, which has led to the identification of several potential genetic targets for therapies.
Many diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes, are triggered when specific genes are turned on and begin to manufacture proteins. RNA interference works by preventing genes from expressing themselves.
Sirna was named for short-interfering RNA (siRNA), the short strands of RNA that have been most successful in research and early clinical trials. In April, British pharma company GlaxoSmithKline committed a potential $700 million to Sirna as part of a deal to co-develop siRNA-based respiratory therapies.
The company's most advanced drug candidate, a siRNA-based treatment for an eye disease called age-related macular degeneration, is in Phase II development. Sirna is also working on a wide range of therapies aimed at Hepatitis C, infectious diseases and skin conditions.
RNA interference was discovered in 1998 by Stanford University School of Medicine professor Andrew Fire and Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who were awarded the Nobel Prize earlier this month for the research. Scientists and the biotech industry have high hopes for the technology, but research into harnessing it for medical therapies is still nascent.
RNA molecules are difficult to package into a safe and effective drug. The digestive system breaks them down, and they don't readily diffuse into a cell, because of their large size and chemical properties. They can also be toxic.
Author: Ryan Blitstein
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
Sirna is one of several companies developing therapies based on RNA interference (RNAi), a promising area of research that might one day allow doctors to silence genes causing diseases from HIV to cancer.
The pharma company, based in Whitehouse Station, N.J., will pay $13 per share for Sirna, a fourteen-year old publicly traded business whose stock closed at $6.45 Monday.
Monday's acquisition complements Merck's $630 million purchase in 2001 of Seattle bioinformatics company Rosetta Inpharmatics, which has led to the identification of several potential genetic targets for therapies.
Many diseases, such as Parkinson's and diabetes, are triggered when specific genes are turned on and begin to manufacture proteins. RNA interference works by preventing genes from expressing themselves.
Sirna was named for short-interfering RNA (siRNA), the short strands of RNA that have been most successful in research and early clinical trials. In April, British pharma company GlaxoSmithKline committed a potential $700 million to Sirna as part of a deal to co-develop siRNA-based respiratory therapies.
The company's most advanced drug candidate, a siRNA-based treatment for an eye disease called age-related macular degeneration, is in Phase II development. Sirna is also working on a wide range of therapies aimed at Hepatitis C, infectious diseases and skin conditions.
RNA interference was discovered in 1998 by Stanford University School of Medicine professor Andrew Fire and Craig Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who were awarded the Nobel Prize earlier this month for the research. Scientists and the biotech industry have high hopes for the technology, but research into harnessing it for medical therapies is still nascent.
RNA molecules are difficult to package into a safe and effective drug. The digestive system breaks them down, and they don't readily diffuse into a cell, because of their large size and chemical properties. They can also be toxic.
Author: Ryan Blitstein
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
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