Invitrogen to collaborate with CytRx Corporation to enhance RNAi technologies

Invitrogen is to team up with CytRx Corporation to license the firm’s second-generation RNA interference (RNAi) technology.

CytRx Corporation’s majority-owned subsidiary RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (RXi) plans to exclusively license Invitrogen’s patent applications, which are for designated target genes in all human therapeutic categories.

The applications also cover Stealth and other proprietary technologies related to enhanced configurations of chemically modified double-stranded RNA.

"Currently Invitrogen Stealth RNAi synthetic duplexes are widely used for RNAi research across both in vitro and in vivo applications due to their specificity, efficacy and stability," remarked Amy Butler, Invitrogen’s vice-president of gene expression profiling.

"We see the use of our Stealth RNAi technology in therapeutics as a natural next step in Invitrogen’s efforts to be at the cutting edge of in vivo gene regulation," she added.

With headquarters in California, Invitrogen conducts business in more than 70 countries and employs around 4,700 scientists and other professionals around the world.

The firm provides products and services supporting academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide, while biopharmaceutical research and development company CytRx Corporation is engaged in the development of high-value human therapeutics.