-

 


Tacere is focused on the most devastating of public health threats, infectious diseases for which there are currently neither cures nor effective treatments. Using internal expertise in research and development coupled with its extensive academic and clinical alliances, Tacere remains at the forefront of RNAi therapeutic development.

RNA interference is a natural mechanism that exists in every cell of the human body and can be redirected to silence genes and genetic elements, including viruses such as HCV. Unlike small molecule drugs, RNAi drugs target and eliminate the underlying genetic basis for the disease using cellular machinery that is catalytic and ever-present.

Capturing the full potential of RNAi, the scientific and management team of Tacere has pioneered the development of a multi-targeting approach that allows multiple regions of a disease-causing agent to be attacked simultaneously, creating a “cocktail in one drug.”

By harnessing the advances of gene medicine and using a delivery method for macromolecules that has demonstrated safety in clinical trials, TT-033 can be administered via peripheral IV, yet selectively penetrates hepatocytes, the liver cell in which HCV replicates. The target sites of the HCV virus are conserved across multiple genotypes, making TT-033 effective for a far broader patient population.

[ >> back to top ]

The graph above demonstrates the ability of TT-033 to target and inhibit three separate regions of the HCV genome simultaneously in mice for more than two months after a single administration.

The first three bars in each group represent inhibition of three different regions of the HCV genome by TT-033; percent inhibition is calculated relative to a negative control (the final bar in each group) and represents total reduction in a readily detectable reporter fused to HCV genetic sequences.


  • RNAi elements target three separate, conserved regions of the Hepatitis C virus simultaneously, thus preventing the generation of viral escape mutants

  • Combination drug in one therapeutic entity provides broad patient applicability, while maintaining exquisite specificity

The figure above illustrates the composition of TT-033 with dotted arrows pointing to the regions of the Hepatitis C virus itself that are targeted by the drug.

Tacere has worldwide, exclusive rights to TT-033, freedom to operate in RNAi, and possesses extraordinary skill in a platform technology that can be rapidly deployed to treat virtually any disease with a genetic basis.

[ >> back to top ]

  
about
technology
contact
news
© 2006, Tacere Therapeutics, Inc. All rights reserved.