Calando Pharmaceuticals Publishes New Results of siRNA Delivery Using Its RONDEL Technology in Sepsis
Monday December 8, 7:00 am ET
PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calando Pharmaceuticals (“Calando”), a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR - News), announced today the online publication in the journal Shock of the first investigation of siRNA formulated with Calando’s RONDEL™ nucleic acid delivery technology for the treatment of sepsis in mice. This work was done in collaboration with Dr. Richard Hotchkiss and colleagues in the School of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. RONDEL™-mediated delivery of anti-apoptotic siRNA to lymphocytes of septic mice is shown to reverse the depletion of immune cells that is a hallmark of this disease.
“The publication demonstrates that the utility of Calando’s RONDEL™ nucleic acid delivery technology can extend beyond oncology to other therapeutics areas, such as sepsis,” said Dr. Heidel, Calando’s Chief Scientific Officer for Nucleic Acid Delivery. “We will continue to evaluate RONDEL™-formulated nucleic acids in a variety of therapeutic applications to complement our ongoing clinical and pre-clinical programs in oncology.”
Calando currently has two RNAi therapeutic candidates, CALAA-01 and CALAA-02, both in oncology. CALAA-01 is being investigated in an ongoing Phase I clinical trial, and CALAA-02 is currently in pre-clinical development with intended advancement into the clinic in 2009.
About Calando Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Calando Pharmaceuticals Inc. (www.calandopharma.com), a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corporation (NASDAQ: ARWR - News), is a biopharmaceuticals company using proprietary technologies developed at Caltech to create targeted siRNA-based therapeutics and small molecule nanoparticle drug conjugates. Calando uses its innovative Cyclosert™ and RONDEL™ nanoparticle systems to solve the long-standing obstacle of effective delivery and targeting for oligonucleotide and small molecule therapeutics.
Calando’s Cyclosert™ technology uses cyclodextrins as building blocks to create an entirely new class of biocompatible materials - linear cyclodextrin-containing polymers that are non-toxic and non-immunogenic at therapeutic doses. The Company leverages Cyclosert™ to design, develop and commercialize drug-delivery-enhanced small-molecule therapeutics. IT-101 is Calando’s lead small molecule Cyclosert conjugate, which recently completed a phase I study in solid tumors at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Calando’s RONDEL™ technology involves the use of cyclodextrin-containing polymers that form the foundation for its two-part siRNA delivery system. The first component is a linear, cyclodextrin-containing polycation that, when mixed with small interfering RNA (siRNA), binds to the anionic “backbone” of the siRNA. The polymer and siRNA self-assemble into nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm in diameter that fully protect the siRNA from nuclease degradation in serum. The siRNA delivery system has been designed to allow for intravenous injection. Upon delivery to the target cell, the targeting ligand binds to membrane receptors on the cell surface and the RNA-containing nanoparticle is taken into the cell by endocytosis. There, chemistry built into the polymer functions to unpackage the siRNA from the delivery vehicle. Based upon this breakthrough in siRNA delivery enabled by the RONDEL™ system, the promise of using siRNA in new systemic therapies may finally be realized. |
