Replies to post #183 on Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp (TKMR) (TKMR)

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Tekmira Acquires Worldwide License to Novel RNAi Technology
Tekmira and Marina Biotech Enter Into License Agreement for UNA Technology
GlobeNewswirePress Release: Tekmira Pharmaceuticals – 1 hour 5 minutes ago

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 29, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation (TKMR) (TKM.TO), a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, announced today that it has obtained a worldwide, non-exclusive license to a novel RNAi payload technology called Unlocked Nucleobase Analog (UNA) from Marina Biotech, Inc. (MRNA) for the development of RNAi therapeutics.

UNA technology can be used in the development of RNAi therapeutics, which treat disease by silencing specific disease causing genes. UNAs can be incorporated into RNAi drugs and have the potential to improve them by increasing their stability and reducing off-target effects.

"Our license to Marina's UNA technology expands and diversifies our foundation of technologies that enable us to develop RNAi therapeutics. With Tekmira's leading LNP delivery technology, a strong balance sheet, and access to multiple RNAi payload technologies, we are well positioned to aggressively advance multiple products into human clinical trials," said Dr. Mark J. Murray, Tekmira's President and CEO.

"We intend to leverage our expertise in LNP delivery and our broad understanding of therapeutic RNA payload design to optimize the use of UNA in our development pipeline, as well as provide pharmaceutical partners the opportunity to license UNAs combined with our LNP delivery technology to develop RNAi therapeutics," added Dr. Murray.

Under the license agreement, Tekmira has received worldwide, non-exclusive rights to Marina Biotech's UNA technology for the development of RNAi therapeutic products, and Marina will receive an upfront payment plus milestone and royalty payments on products developed by Tekmira that use UNA technology. Financial terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.

Unlocked Nucleobase Analogs (UNA) are acyclic ribonucleoside analogs in which the bond between C2' and C3' atoms is broken. This change in sugar structure renders this nucleoside analog very flexible. This characteristic is in contrast to the widely used locked nucleosides that lock the sugar conformation by a bridged bond between C2' and C4' atoms. The flexible nature of UNA reduces the binding affinity between two strands of an RNAi drug and gives unique characteristics to its genes silencing abilities. MARINA Biotech has demonstrated that UNA has the potential to improve RNAi therapeutics by increasing stability and reducing sense and antisense mediated off-target effects while retaining potency.