Quark Pharmaceuticals To Present Data On Its SiRNA Therapeutic Programs In Kidney And Lung Diseases

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: Urology / Nephrology;  Clinical Trials / Drug Trials;  Pharma Industry / Biotech Industry
Article Date: 03 Nov 2009 - 1:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing novel RNA interference (RNAi)-based therapeutics, today announced that James D. Thompson, Ph.D., Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development, will present a case history of QPI-1002, the first systemically administered synthetic siRNA, at the Joint Symposium of the 5th Annual Meeting of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society and the 19th Antisense Symposium in Fukuoka, Japan, November 3-6, 2009. The company also announced that Elena Feinstein, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, will participate in the RNAi for Developing Targeted Therapeutics track at this year's CHI Discovery on Target Conference in Boston, November 2-4, 2009.

Dr. Thompson's presentation will be part of a session titled, "Clinical Studies and Therapeutic Development," which will be held on Thursday, November 5. The case study on QPI-1002 will detail Quark's progress in its independent development of the first systemic administration of a synthetic siRNA in humans, results from Quark's IND-enabling efficacy and toxicology studies and the largest cGMP manufacture of synthetic siRNA of its time. Dr. Feinstein's presentation, titled "Use of siRNA for Amelioration of Aseptic Lung Inflammatory Conditions," will take place on Wednesday, November 4 and will present Quark's preclinical studies for aseptic lung inflammation.

Daniel Zurr, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Quark, said, "Drs. Thompson and Feinstein's presentations demonstrate Quark's leadership and continued innovation in the discovery and development of siRNA therapeutics. Quark's strength in preclinical discovery has promoted development of a robust pipeline that provides our company with growth opportunities within a broad range of therapeutic areas. We are nicely positioned to progress our clinical stage drug candidates, including the first systemically administered siRNA, as well as additional pre-clinical stage compounds, through important value-enhancing milestones in 2010. We look forward to presenting these case studies reflecting the success of our proprietary programs."

QPI-1002 targets p53, a stress-response gene that plays a pivotal role in the apoptotic pathway. Temporary inhibition of p53 at the time of injury delays cell death, allowing natural repair mechanisms to restore normal DNA and cellular integrity. QPI-1002 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/IIa clinical study for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) and in Part A of a Phase I/II clinical study for the prophylaxis of delayed graft function (DGF) following renal transplantation. Both studies are scheduled to be completed this year.

About Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company engaged in discovering and developing novel RNAi-based therapeutics. Quark has a fully integrated drug development platform that spans therapeutic target identification to drug development. Quark's RNAi technology includes novel siRNA structures and chemistry providing Quark with freedom to operate in the siRNA intellectual property arena, as well as the ability for non-invasive delivery of siRNA to target tissues and organs including the eye, ear, lung, spinal cord and brain.

Quark's clinical pipeline includes PF-4523655 (RTP801i-14), currently in Phase II clinical trials for Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). PF-4523655 is a synthetic, chemically modified siRNA designed to inhibit the expression of the gene RTP801 discovered by Quark through the gene discovery platform BiFAR. PF-4523655 is licensed to Pfizer. In addition, Quark's current clinical pipeline includes QPI-1002, the first systemically administered siRNA drug in human clinical trials, developed by Quark for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) following major cardiovascular surgery and the prophylaxis of delayed graft function after kidney transplantation. For the structure of these products Quark has licenses from Silence Therapeutics and from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.

Furthermore, QPI-1007, a proprietary siRNA drug candidate that utilizes a proprietary structure developed by Quark, is being evaluated in advanced IND-enabling preclinical studies as a neuroprotective agent for eye diseases. In addition, Quark has a broad pipeline of siRNA drug candidates and potential drug candidates that have arisen from Quark's research activities. The Company is committed to development of novel siRNA structures and expects to utilize these structures to develop additional RNAi drug candidates.

Quark is headquartered in Fremont, California and operates research and development facilities in Boulder, Colorado and Ness-Ziona, Israel.

Source: Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc