Initial results from the collaboration showed positive results in using RXi’s proprietary self-delivering rxRNA (sd-rxRNA) compounds to silence genes up to 80% in hemopoietic cells.
The companies said that the ability to knock down expression of certain genes in isolated hemopoietic-derived cancer cells (ex vivo) has the potential to convert them into specific immune-stimulants and opens the possibility for development of a new class of anticancer therapeutic vaccines.
RXi Pharma’s sd-rxRNA compounds may be particularly suitable for this use, since they are able to cross cell membranes without the assistance of any delivery agent.
Antigen Express president Eric von Hofe said that they are very pleased to have identified a technology that enables efficient RNAi silencing in hemopoietic cells.
In contrast to other gene silencing technologies, RXi’s compounds act more like small molecules, which may greatly facilitate clinical development," Hofe said.