RXi Pharmaceuticals Strengthens Intellectual Property Portfolio

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Sept. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies addressing major unmet medical needs using RNA-targeted technologies, today announced that it has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office on its unique delivery system for delivering its "original" RNAi compounds (rxRNAori^®) to phagocytic cells for the treatment of diseases with an inflammatory component. Potential diseases include, but are not limited to, macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. The patent covers the use of rxRNAori (RNAi compounds having a 25 to 30 base pair duplex) in a complex containing a phagocytic cell-targeting moiety. U.S. Patent Number 8,815,818, will expire in 2029. The granting of this patent further broadens the breadth of RXi's RNAi delivery platform allowing for the targeted delivery of RNAi therapeutics to specific cells.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130917/NE80755LOGO

In addition, RXi announced that it has been granted a patent by the European Patent Office for a siRNA sequence targeting ICAM-1 for treatment of several diseases, such as allergic conjunctivitis, angiogenesis, corneal/limbic injury, retinitis, and uveitis. European Patent Number EP 2 251 434, will expire in 2024. Furthermore, RXi received a notice of allowance from the Japanese Patent Office for the delivery of double stranded siRNAs (21 to 23 nucleotides in length) across the blood-retina barrier. These two patents, acquired from OPKO Health, Inc., add to RXi's growing list of potential RNAi therapeutic and delivery modalities.

"These issued patents and notice of allowance greatly enhance the value proposition of RXi Pharmaceuticals," said Dr. Geert Cauwenbergh, President and CEO of RXi Pharmaceuticals. He added that, "Not only do these patents deepen our ability to broadly protect our proprietary and novel technology platform, it also reinforces the potential for future commercial and business development opportunities."

About RXi Pharmaceuticals Intellectual Property Estate

RXi's intellectual property estate includes patents and patent applications related to chemistries, sequences, configurations, compounds, delivery technologies, and therapeutic targets.  We believe these patents and patent applications define broad coverage for the development and commercialization of advanced RNAi therapeutics.  In particular, they relate to novel and proprietary structural and chemical modifications patterns, used to introduce "drug-like" properties to rxRNA® compounds.  Fundamental IP related to development of RXi's rxRNA compounds covers distinct (from conventional siRNAs) structures with duplex length shorter than 15 bases, or longer than 25 bases in the context of advanced and diverse chemical modifications patterns. In 2013, RXi acquired the OPKO RNAi intellectual property estate.  The OPKO RNAi estate includes 12 patent families and provides broad patent filings for siRNAs compounds which target genes involved in angiogenesis, cancer, immune disorders and inflammatory diseases. Methods for siRNA delivery across the blood-brain and blood-retina barrier are also covered for therapeutic and diagnostic use. 

About RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation

RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII) is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing innovative therapies based on its proprietary, self-delivering RNAi (sd-rxRNA®) platform. Therapeutics that use RNA interference, or "RNAi," have great promise because of their ability to down-regulate the expression of specific genes that may be over-expressed in disease conditions. Building on the pioneering work of scientific founder and Nobel Laureate Dr. Craig Mello, a member of the RXi Scientific Advisory Board, RXi's first RNAi product candidate, RXI‑109, a self-delivering RNAi compound (sd-rxRNA®), entered into human clinical trials in June 2012 and is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials to reduce the formation of dermal scars (fibrosis).  RXI-109 is designed to reduce the expression of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), a critical regulator of biological pathways involved in fibrosis, including scar formation in the skin.  RXi's sd‑rxRNA oligonucleotides are designed for therapeutic use and have drug-like properties, such as high potency, target specificity, serum stability, reduced immune response activation, and efficient cellular uptake. These hybrid oligonucleotide molecules combine the beneficial properties of conventional RNAi and antisense technologies.  This allows sd‑rxRNAs to achieve efficient cellular uptake and potent, long-lasting intracellular activity. For more information, please visit www.rxipharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements about future expectations, planned and future development of RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation's products and technologies. Forward-looking statements about expectations and development plans of RXi's products involve significant risks and uncertainties:  the risk that we may not be able to successfully develop our candidates, or that development of RNAi-based therapeutics may be delayed or not proceed as planned, or that we may not develop any RNAi-based products; risks that the development process for our product candidates may be delayed, risks related to the development and commercialization of products by our competitors, the risk related to our ability to control the timing and terms of collaborations with third parties, and the possibility that other companies or organizations may assert patent rights preventing us from developing our products. Actual results may differ from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. RXi does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect a change in its views, events or circumstances that occur after the date of this release.

Contact
RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Tamara McGrillen
508-929-3646
[email protected]

SOURCE RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation