Voyager Therapeutics Inc.’s recent selection of a lead development candidate, VY-1706, for its tau silencing gene therapy program in Alzheimer’s disease brought renewed attention to the target, which continues to intrigue a substantial lineup of developers. Bellwether data rolled out this fall from UCB SA and Roche AG at the Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease meeting in Madrid.

Researchers from E-Therapeutics plc presented preclinical data for ETX-312, a GalNAc-conjugated short interfering RNA (siRNA), produced using the Galomic platform and being developed for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

Researchers from Suzhou Siran Biotech Co. Ltd. presented the discovery and preclinical characterization of SA-1211, an N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc)-conjugated siRNA dimer targeting both hepatitis B virus (HBV) and PD-L1 gene expression, being developed as a potential new therapeutic candidate for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B (CHB).

Ractigen Therapeutics Co. Ltd.’s RAG-21, a novel siRNA therapy targeting the FUS gene, has been awarded orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. is now leading the charge with newly launched City Therapeutics Inc., which just completed a $135 million series A financing. City’s executive chair, John Maraganore, will be in familiar territory as the new company plans to develop RNAi-based medicines using next-generation siRNA engineering. He expects dozens of these therapies to reach the market in a relatively short period of time, not just from City Therapeutics but from other companies. It’s a period in the development timeline that he finds reminiscent of the rise and development of monoclonal antibodies.

The founding CEO of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. is now leading the charge with newly launched City Therapeutics Inc., which just completed a $135 million series A financing. City’s executive chair, John Maraganore, will be in familiar territory as the new company plans to develop RNAi-based medicines using next-generation siRNA engineering. He expects dozens of these therapies to reach the market in a relatively short period of time, not just from City Therapeutics but from other companies. It’s a period in the development timeline that he finds reminiscent of the rise and development of monoclonal antibodies.

Judo Bio Inc. emerged from stealth mode and rolled out data showing the value of using megalin receptors for intracellular delivery of ligand-small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapeutics to the kidney as a way of reducing expression of the targeted genes.