A SMaRT buy?

GAITHERSBURG, Md.—Gene therapy specialist VIRxSYS announced it had acquired all core technology and preclinical programs of Intronn, Inc., including the spliceosome-mediated RNA trans-splicing technology (SMaRT), which seeks to repair gene function, not silence it. Financial details were not disclosed, but deal was an all-stock transaction.

 

"This is a major step in our company's capabilities and growth," says Dr. Riku Rautsola, VIRxSYS president and CEO.  "Adding the SMaRT RNA platform to our lentiviral vector delivery platform will help us build VIRxSYS into the driving force behind the next generation of gene therapy."

 

The move puts VIRxSYS firmly in an already crowded RNA-based technologies marketplace that according to a 2006 report by Frost & Sullivan, is expected to reach almost $300 million by 2012 in the United States alone. What will set VIRxSYS apart from the field will be the company's move away from the RNAi pack. Only time will tell if this was a smart move.