e-therapeutics PLC (LON:ETX) has said it is moving into the field of RNA interference, also known as gene silencing.
The approach won inventors Andrew Fire and Craig Mello a Nobel Prize in 2006. Since then researchers have struggled with RNAi discoveries, partly because of problems getting the molecules to their target.
e-therapeutics believes its computational approach to drug discovery could aid the search for new RNAi drug candidates.
The group's machine learning-enhanced database of over 15mln small molecule compounds will allow scientists to perform functional in-silico (computer-based) phenotypic screens. And its genome-associated interactions network (GAINs) platform helps researchers identify “actionable outcomes” from complex genomic datasets.
e-therapeutics said it intends to deploy its computational drug discovery methods internally in the RNAi field and in harness with partners.
In the same announcement, the company said it has appointed Dr Paul Burke, head of Burke Bioventures, as chair of its scientific advisory board (SAB).
Burke will help with the recruitment of advisors of the “highest calibre” to its newly formed SAB. He wants to draft in members with experience of genetics, computational approaches to drug discovery, and deep drug development expertise.
Burke brings with him over two decades of industry experience and was the founding head of Pfizer’s global Center of Excellence for targeted drug delivery and imaging.
in a statement, he said: “I am excited by the potential of e-therapeutics’ platform technologies to critically inform the drug discovery process in a way that can generate not only novel small molecule candidates, but also those that are based on RNA, an important, emerging therapeutic modality.”