Formed originally as a technology spin-out from SRI International, Somagenics is an early-phase biotechnology company focused on the development of a new class of molecules for controlling gene expression. Called RNA Lassos(tm), these molecules bind and inactivate specific messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that encode individual proteins. This platform technology has broad applications in treating disease, in defining the function of newly discovered genes and their usefulness as drug targets, and in gene-based diagnostics including microarrays. Somagenics will initially focus on the use of Lassos to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in providing target validation tools for the pharmaceutical industry. SomaGenics has developed a potent RNAi platform called sshRNA (synthetic short hairpin RNA). The sshRNA consists of a single RNA chain and has several advantages over conventional small interfering RNA (siRNA) and small hairpin (shRNA) structures used by others. Somagenics has focused on developing technologies for detecting and quantifying small RNAs such as miRNAs. The firm's miR-ID® is a versatile platform that provides sensitive and highly specific measurements of small RNAs. The miR-ID platform has been adapted for convenient detection of circulating miRNAs (miR-Direct TM), and a version has also been developed for the reliable detection of fragments of larger RNAs such as messenger RNAs from fresh and fixed tissue samples.
