Business
Positive Results: Midkine mRNA and STAT-6 siRNA
Positive Results: Midkine mRNA and STAT-6 siRNA.
About this update from Coiled Therapeutics Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n11 March 2024\n \nRoquefort Therapeutics plc\n(\"Roquefort Therapeutics\" or the \"Company\")\nPositive Results: Midkine mRNA and STAT-6 siRNA Programs\nPre-clinical development milestones\n \nRoquefort Therapeutics (LSE:ROQ, OTCQB:ROQAF), the Main Market listed biotech company focused on developing first in class medicines in the high value and high growth oncology market, provides an update on the development of the Midkine mRNA and STAT-6 siRNA programs.\n \nMidkine mRNA Program Milestone\nFurther to the announcement on 6 February 2024, where Roquefort Therapeutics announced that its mRNA therapeutics were undergoing studies in combination with proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery systems, the Company has continued development in validated in vivo models. These latest experiments combined the mRNA with a LNP delivery system in a validated in vivo model of liver cancer and demonstrated the safety and efficacy in reducing functional Midkine of the novel mRNA LNP combination.\n \nThis represents a significant milestone in both the discovery of a novel mRNA therapeutic and in the safe combination with an LNP to allow for the delivery of the mRNA as an anti-cancer medicine. Liver cancer is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for more than 700,000 deaths each year[1]. Midkine is associated with liver cancer progression, resistance and prognosis[2]. A novel therapeutic that targets Midkine expressing liver cancers with the cutting-edge mRNA technology offers the potential for a first-in-class medicine in the $3B liver cancer market.\n \nSTAT-6 siRNA Program Milestone\nOn 7 August 2023 the Company announced that it had developed four additional siRNA sequences that attack the target STAT-6 (Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription) and its SH2 (Src-homology-2) domain. The Company has continued the development of these novel STAT-6 medicines in validated in vitro models of colon cancer with the results demonstrating efficacy of the four new siRNA sequences in reducing STAT-6 expression by 40-50%.\n \nColorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most diagnosed malignancy and a major leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide with ~1.9 million new cases per year and accounted for over 900,000 deaths in 2020[3]. Despite advances in therapeutic regimens, t...