N4 Pharma Plc (LON:N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines, has provided an update on its ongoing siRNA research work.
The Company has completed the single loading of both the EGFR and BCL-2 siRNA nucleotides onto Nuvec and has produced good monodisperse formulations at all doses to be investigated. The single loaded EGFR siRNA has shown strong silencing of the EGFR gene with a good dose response curve established which has allowed the Company to identify the dose it can take into the single loaded EGFR in vivo study.
The next step for EGFR is to measure cell apoptosis to show a relevant in vitro clinical effect.
Supply of siRNA is only available from a few sources and supply issues means N4 Pharma is still establishing the BCL-2 assay to be used for the in vitro testing. An initial effect has been seen but to complete the dose response curve more material is needed to fully establish the assay and determine the doses to move into the single loaded in vivo work and double loaded experiments.
The Company has also established the growth curve of the xenograft tumour model to be used, so once the BCL-2 in vitro work is complete, the Company will be ready to start the in vivo studies, as long as supply of the siRNA is not further interrupted.
Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of N4 Pharma, commented:
“We are very pleased with the EGFR results which show excellent knockdown of the siRNA along with a very clear dose response curve and believe this shows how well suited Nuvec® is for working with siRNA.”
