RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (Nasdaq: RXII), a biopharmaceutical company pursuing the development and commercialization of proprietary therapeutics based on RNA interference (RNAi), today announced that it has recently acquired direct ownership of technology for which it had previously exercised its option to exclusively license from Advirna LLC. The novel acquired technologies potentially enable in vivo delivery of RNAi therapeutics. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Tod Woolf, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of RXi, stated, “RXi’s self-delivering rxRNA™ (sd-rxRNA™) technology platform, which is based on a combination of this technology acquired from Advirna and RXi internally developed technology, has shown extremely promising results in pre-clinical studies. This prompted us to acquire direct ownership of the technology instead of merely licensing it. By combining this newly acquired technology into RXi’s own portfolio and gaining full control of the patent prosecution, we enhance the potential of obtaining broader claims that would further strengthen RXi’s intellectual property position.”
The broad clinical potential of Advirna’s technology in combination with RXi’s rxRNA™ platform, which includes sd-rxRNA’s, may enable RXi to develop a robust and sustainable RNAi therapeutic platform with significant competitive advantages in efficacy, toxicity, ease of administration and manufacturing costs when compared to traditional RNAi compounds. The unique capabilities of this technology are generating substantial interest in the scientific and business community.