Cenix BioScience GmbH, a leading contract research organization specializing in RNA interference- (RNAi) and microRNA- (miRNA) based drug discovery, announced that it is growing its R&D operations by establishing a new subsidiary in Flanders, Belgium.

The new subsidiary company, named Cenix BioScience BVBA, will be wholly owned by its Dresden-based parent, and will help accelerate the development of the company’s R&D capabilities in key growth areas including CNS-focused drug discovery and in vivo RNAi. Through these programmes, Cenix is working to improve the applicability of siRNA technology by testing novel delivery solutions including its own proprietary DARE technology. The expansion comes as part of a major growth and diversification initiative ongoing since 2008 to broaden the company's range of activities beyond the cell-based RNAi services that have established Cenix as a global leader in various applications of RNAi screening over the past 11 years.

“We are very excited to start this important new phase in our company’s development,” said Dr Christophe Echeverri, CEO/CSO of Cenix. “This opportunity comes as the result of many years of hard work by past and present staff. It also arises at a particularly strategic time in the maturation of the RNAi field, which we are eager to help drive further forward in the years to come, now through both our original Dresden team and our new Flanders unit.”