High-performance cross-linked polystyrene bead provides a solid support for high-grade, high-yield synthesis of oligonucleotides and for antisense drug synthesis
Nitto Denko has announced development of a high-performance cross-linked polystyrene bead which can support a high-grade, high-yield synthesis of oligonucleotides, essential to DNA and RNA-based gene therapies, and provide solid support for the synthesis of antisense drugs.
The development was achieved in a joint venture with Isis Pharmaceuticals, a US company that was the first in the world to succeed in bringing an antisense drug (a gene-repair therapy) to market.
Recent research in the life science field has focused on gene-repair therapies that deliver genes and portions of genes (oligonucleotides) within the human body with the objective of curing diseases.
Antisense drugs are one of the most common gene-repair therapies, and genetically inhibit the synthesis of protein substances which cause disease. Antisense drugs are expected to be effective in curing diseases such as cancer.
Additionally, antisense drugs directly influence nucleic acid, the intended target, and are more effective with lower toxicity than the conventional low molecular weight pharmacological agents.
The new, proprietary polystyrene bead design (composition, structure, etc) will be marketed through Nitto Denko's wholly-owned US subsidiary, Kinovate Life Sciences.
The company plans to expand into other next-generation gene-repair therapies, such as polymer beads for the synthesis of siRNA, in the future.
