Our Technology
Basic medical and genetic research in recent years has shown that tumors and many other incurable diseases are caused by defective regulation of certain genes. This manifests as excessive or faulty synthesis of proteins that can trigger tumor diseases and promote their progression.
The use of antisense molecules to inhibit the synthesis of such pathogenic proteins represents an innovative therapeutic approach. Antisense compounds are biological molecules consisting of small ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) segments (oligonucleotides), which attach to the messenger RNA, resulting in the inhibition of protein synthesis (translation).
Accordingly, these drugs enable a causal therapy of certain diseases, without altering the patient’s genome. Antisense molecules are highly specific for a certain messenger RNA and therewith for certain proteins.
On average, less than 1% of the messenger RNA is a suitable target for antisense oligonucleotides. Within this 1%, only few sequence segments meet all the criteria to make a suitable antisense molecule successful as a therapeutic medication.
- Protein synthesis: The genetic information is encoded in the doubled-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) located in the nucleus. The information on the DNA is copied into single-stranded messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and called transcription. The messenger RNA is then translated into a certain protein by ribosomes (translation).
- Inhibition of protein synthesis: Antisense molecules inhibit the translation of mRNA into a certain protein and thereby prevent protein production at the root.