Sylentis, a biopharmaceutical company in Grupo Zeltia (MC:ZEL) which is a pioneer in the research and development of new drugs based on gene silencing (interference RNA: RNAi) and one of the four companies in the world with RNAi-based products undergoing clinical trials, has been authorised as a pharmaceutical laboratory to manufacture research drugs by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products (AEMPS).
Verónica Ruz, Qualified Person of the Laboratory: “We are very proud of our company and of the work we have been doing since its foundation in 2006. Authorisation of Sylentis as a pharmaceutical laboratory is further recognition of the hard work and enthusiasm invested in this project by Zeltia and the people in Sylentis”.
About Sylentis
Founded in 2006 as a spin-off from Grupo Zeltia subsidiary Genómica, S.A.U., Sylentis is a subsidiary of Grupo Zeltia and a pioneer in Spain in the search for new therapies based on interference RNA (RNAi). The company aims to design effective short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) using bioinformatic programmes such as SIRFINDER®, which optimises the design of siRNAs with pharmacological potential. Sylentis initially focused on developing therapies to treat glaucoma/ocular hypertension, conditions which are addressed by the company’s most advanced compounds at present.
It also has other research lines whose compounds are in the R&D and preclinical phases.
About interference RNA (RNAi)
RNAi has arisen in recent years as a promising technology with therapeutic applications, and was recognised worldwide when its discoverers, Fire and Mello, received the Nobel Prize in 2006. Discovered in plants in the 1990s, RNAi consists of highly efficient selective and specific inhibition of gene expression. RNAi is mediated by small fragments of double-stranded RNA, consisting of 19-23 nucleotides, which promote degradation of messenger RNA (mRNA), thus inhibiting synthesis of the proteins for which they code and which are responsible for the pathology. RNAi therapy has great potential as this mechanism is used naturally by cells to regulate gene expression in a way that is both non-toxic and highly effective.
About Zeltia:
Zeltia S.A. is a world-leading biopharmaceutical company specialised in the development of marine-based drugs for use in oncology and central nervous system illnesses. Grupo Zeltia consists mainly of the following companies: PharmaMar, the world-leading biotechnology company in advancing cancer care through the discovery and development of innovative marine-derived medicines;Noscira, a biotech firm focused on discovering and developing new drugs against Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system; Genómica, Spain’s leading molecular diagnostics company; Sylentis, dedicated to researching therapeutic applications of gene silencing (RNAi); and a chemical division comprising Zelnova and Xylazel, two highly profitable companies that are leaders in their respective market segments.
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