CytRx affiliate buys RNAi delivery tech

CytRx's affiliate RXi Pharmaceuticals has licensed exclusive rights to technology that could allow for the oral delivery of RNAi therapeutics. CytRx says the technology, which was licensed from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, will be used to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, Crohn's disease, atherosclerosis, psoriasis and Type II diabetes. Oral delivery would give CytRx and RXi a competitive advantage since many of the current inflammatory disease treatments require an injection or infusion. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"The development of technology that potentially enables oral delivery represents a truly dramatic advance for the field of RNAi therapeutics, and could open up significant market opportunities for RXi. We view this license as a major step toward our goal of developing such drugs as it allows us to potentially target a new class of cells that cannot be accessed either by traditional RNAi delivery methods, local administration or injection," said Tod Woolf, CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals.

- see this press release

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