InteRNA Technologies, UCB and University of Bonn to collaborate on MicroRNAs in neurodegenerative disease

Dutch pharma company InteRNA Technologies has entered into a collaboration with the Neuroallianz Consortium, an academic industry partnership with Belgian drugmaker UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) and the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University of Bonn in Germany.

Ten partners have entered into an agreement where InteRNA will support the investigation of miRNAs in neurodegenerative diseases. InteRNA will apply its platform for multi-parametric, high-throughput functional screening assays to identify and validate the biological role of individual miRNAs and novel therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative disease. This collaboration forms part of the Neuroallianz project miRNAs in Neurodegenerative Diseases partnered by the University of Bonn and UCB and funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in Germany.

Though InteRNA is building its own pipeline of miRNA drug candidates for cancer, it has shown validity of its platform for discovery and validation of miRNAs drug candidates and their mode of action for other disease indications. Roel Schaapveld, chief executive of InteRNA Technologies, which was founded in 2006 by Aglaia Oncology Fund as a spin-off from the Hubrecht Institute, Utrecht, said: “The selection of InteRNA to support this program validates the uniqueness of our platform and confirms its potential use outside oncology.”