Regulus Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company leading the discovery and development of innovative new medicines targeting microRNAs, announced it is collaborating with researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine seeking novel treatments for angiogenic diseases using microRNA therapeutics. The research will combine Regulus’ leading microRNA platform with UCSD’s expertise in animal models of angiogenesis to discover anti-angiogenic microRNA-targeted therapies that could be rapidly translated for treatment of human disease. The collaborative research program was the recent recipient of a UC Discovery Grant that promotes collaborations between the university’s researchers and industry partners. Financial terms of the grant were not disclosed.
“We are pleased to collaborate with leading scientific institutes like UCSD and to provide industry support for programs such as the UC Discovery Grant,” said Hubert C. Chen, M.D., Regulus’ vice president of translational medicine. “Regulus continues to demonstrate a leadership position in the field of microRNA therapeutics and is committed to forging partnerships with leading academic and clinical laboratories to advance microRNA biology and therapeutic discovery. Our network of nearly 30 academic collaborations assists us with the investigation of new microRNAs and supports microRNA discovery efforts that feed the Company’s pipeline.”
Angiogenesis, which is the formation of new blood vessels, is an important event that contributes to the severity of cancer, diabetes, macular degeneration, inflammatory disease and arthritis. microRNAs have been implicated in regulating biological networks involved in angiogenesis.
“Our research published last year in Nature Medicine demonstrated that microRNA-132 functions as a novel angiogenic switch that turns on angiogenesis in quiescent endothelial cells, and that targeting with an anti-miR-132 decreases blood vessel formation,” said David A. Cheresh, Ph.D., professor of pathology in the UCSD School of Medicine, associate director for translational research at UCSD Moores Cancer Center and principal investigator on the grant. “The objective of our collaborative work with Regulus is to advance these initial discoveries and discover additional microRNAs involved in angiogenic diseases.”
The UC Discovery Grant program promotes collaborations between the university’s researchers and industry partners in the interest of supporting cutting-edge research, strengthening the state’s economy and serving the public good.
Date: April 14, 2011
Source: Regulus Therapeutics Inc.
