Title: Modified Dicer Polypeptide and Methods of Use Thereof
Patent Number: 8,440,430
Filed: March 18, 2009
Lead Inventor: Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Oakland
The patent, its abstract states, relates to a “modified Dicer polypeptide … [that] exhibits enhanced catalytic activity. Also provided is a method for producing small regulatory RNAs from a dsRNA [by] contacting a dsRNA with a … modified Dicer. Small regulatory RNAs produced by a subject method find use in a variety of applications, including research and therapeutic applications.”
Title: Combination Treatment for the Treatment of Hepatitis C Virus Infection
Patent Number: 8,440,637
Filed: July 26, 2010
Inventor: Joacim Elmen, Santaris Pharma
The invention, the patent’s abstract states, relates to the “use of a combination of an inhibitor of miR-122 and an inhibitor of [very low-density lipoprotein] assembly for the treatment of HCV, hyperlipidemia, and hypercholesterolemia.”
Title: Method of Producing Lipid Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery
Application Number: 20130115274
Filed: Nov. 5, 2012
Lead Inventor: Victor Knopov, Nitto Denko
The patent application, its abstract states, claims “a method for preparing a liposome that efficiently encapsulates a negatively charged therapeutic polymer [such as an] siRNA. The process involves preparing a lipid mixture comprising a cationic lipid in a water-miscible organic solvent, such as ethanol, at a concentration of 2.3 mg/ml, and adding this solution to the polymer dissolved in water to a final concentration of 35 percent ethanol in water. The final charge ratio of drug/lipid is 1:2.5. The resulting nanoparticles have a mean size of 50 to 150 nm.”
Title: siRNA that Inhibits WT1 Gene Expression and Uses Thereof
Application Number: 20130115696
Filed: Oct. 24, 2012
Lead Inventor: Haruo Sugiyama, Osaka University
The invention is based on the discovery that “siRNAs targeting the 17AA site of the WT1 gene not only suppress the expression of the WT1 gene, but also demonstrate remarkable cell growth-suppressing effects and cell death-inducing effects in cancer cell lines,” the patent application’s abstract states.
Title: Method for Transfecting Nucleic Acid to Cell and Nucleic Acid Complex
Application Number: 20130115700
Filed: July 7, 2011
Inventor: Masayuki Fujii, Kitakyushu Foundation for the Advancement of Industry, Science, and Technology
The invention, the patent application’s abstract states, relates to a method for transacting nucleic acids to cells using a nucleic acid complex created by bringing a “double-stranded nucleic acid molecule into contact with a nucleic acid carrier.”
Title: Method and Substances for Isolation and Detection of Small Polynucleotides
Application Number: 20130116154
Filed: Nov. 15, 2012
Lead Inventor: Elliott Dawson, Bioventures
The invention comprises a “capture probe suitable for use with methods for isolating, labeling, or detecting small polynucleotides,” according to the patent application’s abstract. The invention also features “a method for isolating a small polynucleotide of interest from a sample [by] hybridizing the small polynucleotide to the capture probe and lengthening the small polynucleotide by primer extension or ligation … [as well as] a method for detecting a small polynucleotide of interest following isolation by amplification of the primer extension products and/or hybridization and subsequent cleavage of dual-labeled detector probes.”
Title: Method and Compositions for the Inhibition of HIV-1 Replication
Application Number: 20130116305
Filed: Oct. 12, 2012
Lead Inventor: Sharon Wahl, US Department of Health and Human Services
The invention, the patent application’s abstract states, “relates to methods and compositions for the attenuation of HIV-1 replication in human cells, and especially in human macrophages. The invention particularly concerns the use of inhibitors of P21 expression to attenuate such replication … [and] the use of antisense P21 oligonucleotides [or] siRNA[s] … to attenuate such replication.”
Title: Novel microRNA Precursor and Methods of Use for Regulation of Target Gene Expression
Application Number: 20130117885
Filed: June 28, 2011
Lead Inventor: Yuwen Wang, BASF Plant Science
The patent application, according to its abstract, claims “methods for modulating target gene expression in plants by expression of recombinant microRNA precursors. … Uses of the said recombinant microRNA precursors for the control of nematodes, in particular the control of soybean cyst nematodes, are also provided. Methods for introduction of genetic material into plants that are susceptible to nematodes in order to increase resistance to nematodes are further provided.”