In April 2008, Targeted Genetics acquired full exclusive rights to its preclinical Huntington's disease (HD) program from Sirna Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc.
In 2005, Targeted Genetics and Sirna Therapeutics formed a collaboration to develop HD therapeutics using an AAV delivered RNAi approach to target the HD gene. This collaboration also involved Dr. Beverly L. Davidson's laboratory and was based on preclinical proof of concept established by University of Iowa researchers. AAV vectors express for long periods of time and allow for infrequent dosing, which is highly desirable when administering a therapeutic directly to the brain.
Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder.
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