MEDIA RELEASE PR36853
Quark Pharmaceuticals to Present Data on its siRNA Therapeutic Programs in Kidney and
Lung Diseases
FREMONT, Calif., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to
discovering, developing and commercializing novel RNA interference (RNAi)-based
therapeutics, today announced that James D. Thompson, Ph.D., Vice President,
Pharmaceutical Development, will present a case history of QPI-1002, the first
systemically administered synthetic siRNA, at the Joint Symposium of the 5th Annual
Meeting of Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society and the 19th Antisense Symposium in
Fukuoka, Japan, November 3-6, 2009. The company also announced that Elena Feinstein,
M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, will participate in the RNAi for Developing
Targeted Therapeutics track at this year's CHI Discovery on Target Conference in
Boston, November 2-4, 2009.
Dr. Thompson's presentation will be part of a session titled, "Clinical Studies
and Therapeutic Development," which will be held on Thursday, November 5. The case
study on QPI-1002 will detail Quark's progress in its independent development of the
first systemic administration of a synthetic siRNA in humans, results from Quark's
IND-enabling efficacy and toxicology studies and the largest cGMP manufacture of
synthetic siRNA of its time. Dr. Feinstein's presentation, titled "Use of siRNA for
Amelioration of Aseptic Lung Inflammatory Conditions," will take place on Wednesday,
November 4 and will present Quark's preclinical studies for aseptic lung
inflammation.
Daniel Zurr, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Quark, said, "Drs.
Thompson and Feinstein's presentations demonstrate Quark's leadership and continued
innovation in the discovery and development of siRNA therapeutics. Quark's strength
in preclinical discovery has promoted development of a robust pipeline that provides
our company with growth opportunities within a broad range of therapeutic areas. We
are nicely positioned to progress our clinical stage drug candidates, including the
first systemically administered siRNA, as well as additional pre-clinical stage
compounds, through important value-enhancing milestones in 2010. We look forward to
presenting these case studies reflecting the success of our proprietary programs."
QPI-1002 targets p53, a stress-response gene that plays a pivotal role in the
apoptotic pathway. Temporary inhibition of p53 at the time of injury delays cell
death, allowing natural repair mechanisms to restore normal DNA and cellular
integrity. QPI-1002 is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/IIa clinical study for
the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI) and in Part A of a Phase I/II clinical
study for the prophylaxis of delayed graft function (DGF) following renal
transplantation. Both studies are scheduled to be completed this year.
About Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company engaged in
discovering and developing novel RNAi-based therapeutics. Quark has a fully
integrated drug development platform that spans therapeutic target identification to
drug development. Quark's RNAi technology includes novel siRNA structures and
chemistry providing Quark with freedom to operate in the siRNA intellectual property
arena, as well as the ability for non-invasive delivery of siRNA to target tissues
and organs including the eye, ear, lung, spinal cord and brain.
Quark's clinical pipeline includes PF-4523655 (RTP801i-14), currently in Phase II
clinical trials for Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) and Age-related Macular Degeneration
(AMD). PF-4523655 is a synthetic, chemically modified siRNA designed to inhibit the
expression of the gene RTP801 discovered by Quark through the gene discovery platform
BiFAR. PF-4523655 is licensed to Pfizer. In addition, Quark's current clinical
pipeline includes QPI-1002, the first systemically administered siRNA drug in human
clinical trials, developed by Quark for the prevention of acute kidney injury (AKI)
following major cardiovascular surgery and the prophylaxis of delayed graft function
after kidney transplantation. For the structure of these products Quark has licenses
from Silence Therapeutics and from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.
Furthermore, QPI-1007, a proprietary siRNA drug candidate that utilizes a
proprietary structure developed by Quark, is being evaluated in advanced IND-enabling
preclinical studies as a neuroprotective agent for eye diseases. In addition, Quark
has a broad pipeline of siRNA drug candidates and potential drug candidates that have
arisen from Quark's research activities. The Company is committed to development of
novel siRNA structures and expects to utilize these structures to develop additional
RNAi drug candidates.
Quark is headquartered in Fremont, California and operates research and
development facilities in Boulder, Colorado and Ness-Ziona, Israel. Additional
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc. The Ruth Group (investors / media)
Juliana Friedman Sara Ephraim / Janine McCargo
+972 89 30 5111 (646) 536-7004 / 7033
jfriedman@quarkpharma.com sephraim@theruthgroup.com
jmccargo@theruthgroup.com
SOURCE: Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
CONTACT: Juliana Friedman,
Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,
+972 89 30 5111, jfriedman@quarkpharma.com,
Sara Ephraim,
+1-646-536-7004, sephraim@theruthgroup.com,
Janine McCargo,
+1-646-536-7033, jmccargo@theruthgroup.com,
both of The Ruth Group (investors / media)
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