Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a leading developer of RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics, announced the initiation of a new research collaboration with Pfizer.

Tekmira and Pfizer will collaborate on evaluating Tekmira's stable nucleic acid-lipid particle (SNALP) technology to deliver small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules provided by Pfizer. Tekmira will be responsible for preparing the SNALP formulations and Pfizer will evaluate the formulations in preclinical models. Financial terms of the collaboration were not disclosed.

Dr Mark J. Murray, Tekmira's president and CEO, said "We are pleased to be working with Pfizer, one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies and an organization that has made a commitment to the development of nucleic acid therapeutics. The collaboration combines Tekmira's expertise in the delivery of RNAi therapeutics with Pfizer's research excellence in nucleic acid therapeutics."

"We continue to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies thereby broadening the use of our leading SNALP delivery platform. Our goal is to sign additional collaborative agreements in 2010," added Dr Murray.

This is Tekmira's first formal research collaboration with Pfizer. Tekmira currently has license or collaborative agreements in place with seven other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

RNAi therapeutics have the potential to treat a broad number of human diseases by "silencing" disease causing genes. The discoverers of RNAi, a gene silencing mechanism used by all cells, were awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. RNAi therapeutics, such as "siRNAs," require delivery technology to be effective systemically. Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are one of the most widely used siRNA delivery approaches for systemic administration. Tekmira's SNALP (stable nucleic acid-lipid particles) technology is the leading class of LNPs being used in clinical development. SNALP technology encapsulates siRNAs with high efficiency in uniform lipid nanoparticles which are effective in delivering RNAi therapeutics to disease sites in numerous preclinical models. SNALP formulations are manufactured by a proprietary method which is robust, scalable and highly reproducible. SNALP-based products have been reviewed by multiple FDA divisions for use in clinical trials. SNALP formulations comprise several lipid components that can be adjusted to suit the specific application.

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing novel RNAi therapeutics and providing its leading lipid nanoparticle delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners.