“Naturally occurring miRNAs that regulate human oncogenes and methods of use thereof are described” in the patent application, its abstract states. “Suitable nucleic acids for use in the methods and compositions described herein include, but are not limited to, pri-miRNA, pre-miRNA, mature miRNA or fragments of variants thereof that retain the biological activity of the mature miRNA, and DNA encoding a pri-miRNA, pre-miRNA, mature miRNA, fragments or variants thereof, or regulatory elements of the miRNA. The compositions containing nucleic acids are administered to a patient in need of treatment or prophylaxis of at least one symptom or manifestation of cancer,” the abstract adds. “In one embodiment, the compositions are administered in an effective amount to inhibit gene expression of one or more oncogenes. Methods for treatment or prevention of at least one symptom or manifestation of cancer are also described.”
USPTO Publishes Two Patents, Three Patent Applications Related to RNAi, September 2006
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Title: Compositions and Processes Using siRNA, Amphipathic Compounds, and Polycations
Number: 7,101,995
Filed: May 28, 2002
Lead Inventor: David Lewis, Mirus Bio
The patent describes “a deliverable composition with low toxicity comprising an amphipathic compound, a polycation, and a siRNA,” according to its abstract. “The composition may be used in the process of delivering a siRNA to an animal cell or more particularly, a mammal cell.”
Title: Compositions and Methods for Treatment of Prostate and Other Cancers
Number: 7,101,991
Filed: Oct. 2, 2003
Lead Inventor: Martin Gleave, University of British Columbia (OncoGeneX Technologies)
The patent, its abstract states, claims “therapeutic agents which target heat shock protein (hsp) 27 in vivo [that] are used to provide treatment to individuals, particularly human individuals, suffering from prostate cancer and other cancers that overexpress hsp27.
“A therapeutic agent, for example an antisense oligonucleotide or RNAi nucleotide inhibitor with sequence specificity for hsp27 mRNA, for example human hsp27 mRNA, is administered to an individual suffering from prostate cancer or some other cancer expressing elevated levels of hsp 27 in a therapeutically effective amount,” it adds. “The therapeutic agent is suitably formulated into a pharmaceutical composition which includes a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier, and packaged in dosage unit form. A preferred dosage unit form is an injectable dosage unit form.”
Title: RNAi Expression Constructs with Liver-Specific Enhancer/Promoter
Number: 20060189561
Filed: Feb. 16, 2006
Lead Inventor: Petrus Roelvink, Benitec
The invention, the patent application’s abstract states, “provides compositions and methods suitable for RNAi specifically in the liver so as to treat diseases or disorders.”
Title: Molecular Method to Augment RNA-Mediated Gene Silencing
Number: 20060189560
Filed: Jan. 27, 2006
Lead Inventor: Ajit Kumar
“The invention provides for a novel method of augmenting gene silencing via RNA interference,” the patent application’s abstract states. “Under the invention, RNAi technology is combined with the action of a variant nuclear factor to potently inhibit gene expression. In one embodiment of the invention, the nuclear factor is a variant of a double-stranded RNA binding protein termed NF90ctv. The invention is also related to diagnostic/investigative and treatment methods and to cell lines produced by the methods disclosed.”
Title: Regulation of Oncogenes by microRNAs
Number: 20060189557
Filed: Sept. 2, 2005
Lead Inventor: Frank Slack, Yale University