Title: RNA Interference-Mediated Inhibition of Hepatitis B Virus Using Short Interfering Nucleic Acid (siNA). Number: 20030206887. Filed: Sept. 16, 2002. Lead Inventor: David Morrissey, Sirna Therapeutics.
The patent application’s abstract states that the invention covers “methods and reagents useful in modulating hepatitis B virus gene expression in a variety of applications, including use in therapeutic, diagnostic, target validation, and genomic discovery applications. Specifically, the invention relates to short interfering nucleic acid or short interfering RNA molecules capable of mediating RNA interference against hepatitis B virus.”
Title: Nanometer-Sized Carrier Medium. Number: 20030206859. Filed: May 1, 2003. Lead Inventor: I-Wei Chen, University of Pennsylvania.
The invention, the patent application’s abstract states, “relates to a colloidal dispersion of amine-terminated silica particles having a narrowly controlled size range in an aqueous phase for diagnostic imaging, drug delivery, and gene therapy.”
The patent application also claims the colloidal dispersion “comprising at least one diagnostic or therapeutic agent coupled thereto.” This agent can be, among other things, “genetic material,” which includes “geno- mic DNA, cDNA, mRNA, and RNAi including antisense RNA and siRNA,” the application states.
The application also covers “methods of preparing surface-modified silica particles suitable for use in an aqueous colloidal carrier medium, for preparing a diagnostic or therapeutic agent for targeted delivery to specific anatomical structures,” the abstract states.