Regulus Therapeutics Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of first-in-class drugs that target microRNAs to treat a broad range of diseases.
[1] MicroRNAs are small naturally occurring RNA molecules, typically 20 to 25 nucleotides in length, that do not encode proteins but instead have evolved to regulate gene expression.
Animal models showed that modulating microRNAs through anti-miRs effectively regulates biological processes and provides therapeutic benefit to cardiac dysfunction, cancer and hepatitis C virus infection.
In April 2008, Regulus and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) entered into a microRNA-focused strategic alliance for the discovery, development and commercialization of novel microRNA-targeted therapeutics to treat inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
In February 2010, Regulus and GSK announced a new collaboration to develop and commercialize microRNA therapeutics targeting microRNA-122 (miR-122) for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) infection.